Chinese Government Tightens Surveillance After Dissident's Nobel Win

BEIJING, Oct.18, 2010— -- When Yu Jie returned to his home Thursday, he immediately noticed that something was different.

"Ten minutes after I got back from a trip to the U.S., the police called me to say that from now I would need a police escort anytime I wanted to leave the house," he said.

The human rights activist is accustomed to the close scrutiny from Chinese authorities. He recently published a controversial book about China's Premier Wen Jiabao entitled "China's Best Actor: Wen Jiabao."

But in the week since imprisoned Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo won the Nobel Peace Prize, Yu says, the situation has intensified.

"It's even stricter than it was during the Olympic Games," he said. "On Friday afternoon, I wanted to have dinner with my friends but the police told me that I couldn't go because the police said all those under surveillance cannot leave their houses. Then on Sunday night, I just went out to dinner and drove myself. The police followed me to the restaurant and took a table next to us."

Chinese censors have mostly succeeded in hiding the news of Liu's prize; most Chinese don't even know who he is.

The literary critic and activist is serving an 11-year prison sentence for his role in authoring a manifesto, known as Charter '08, which called for democratic reforms in China.

China's foreign ministry called the award "a desecration" and has warned that it will come at the expense of diplomatic ties between Norway and China. Liu's wife, Liu Xia, has been under house arrest since new her husband was awarded the prize.

But for those who know and admire Liu, the award has provided a flash of inspiration and excitement. Chinese activists and reformers communicated on Twitter about trying to organize celebrations when they heard he had been awarded the Peace Prize.