‘It’s easier to die,’Widow of Chinese Nobel Peace Prize laureate cries from house arrest

Liu Xia, the Widow of Chinese Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Liu Xiaobo, appeared to have lost hope of being released from house arrest soon , according to an emotional recording published by a friend .

“ Now , I ’ ve got nothing to be afraid of , ’’ Liu said in a recent telephone conversation with exiled writer , Liao Yiwu , published on the website chinachange. org .

“ If I can’ t leave , I ’ ll die in my home.

“ Xiaobo is gone and there ’ s nothing in the world for me now .

“ It ’ s easier to die than live ; using death to defy could not be any simpler for me . ’’

Liu has been kept under house arrest without charges since 2010 when Liu Xiaobo was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work campaigning for human rights in China .

A year before, he had been arrested for subverting state power .

He died while under medical parole in July 2017.

Foreign diplomats have reportedly been trying to negotiate Liu ’ s release and transfer abroad after her husband ’ s death with the Chinese government but to no avail .

Liu had expressed her desire to move to Germany .

( dpa /NAN)