US urges China to grant Nobel laureate Liu 'freedom of movement': embassy

The United States on Tuesday urged China to grant Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo and his wife "freedom of movement" and let him choose his own doctors after the cancer-stricken activist was taken from prison to a hospital. Liu, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010 while serving an 11-year sentence for subversion, was released on medical parole after being diagnosed with terminal liver cancer last month, his lawyer said Monday. Prison authorities in the northeastern province of Liaoning confirmed the democracy activist had been taken to a hospital in Shenyang city where he was being treated by a team of "eight renowned Chinese oncologists". His wife Liu Xia has been held under house arrest in Beijing since 2010. The conditions of Liu's parole are not clear and a spokeswoman for the US embassy in Beijing said they were "working to gather more information" about his legal and medical status. "We call on the Chinese authorities to not only release Mr Liu but also to allow his wife Ms Liu Xia out of house arrest," she told AFP. She said Beijing should "provide them the protection and freedom -- such as freedom of movement and access to medical care of his choosing -- to which they are entitled under the Chinese constitution and legal system and international commitments."