Cui Weiping, der er professor på Film akademiet i Beijing, ringede rundt til sine venner og spurgte om, hvad de synes om dommen over Liu Xiaobo.
Hun lagde svarene på Twitter, som Global Voices har oversat. To eksempler:
章诒和
章诒和的看法:1968年,我以现行反革命罪,判处有期徒刑20年;2009年,刘晓波以煽动颠覆国家政权罪,判处有期徒刑11年。我们都是因言获罪,前后相距四十一载。这种状况不得不使人怀疑:我们的制度,到底改善了多少?我们的社会,究竟进步了没有?Zhang Yihe:
In 1968, I was sentenced to twenty years in prison for the crime of counter-revolutionary actions; in 2009, for the crime of inciting subversion of state power, Liu Xiaobo has been given a sentence of eleven years. We both were made criminals for our words, one forty-one years before the other. This can only make one wonder: this system of ours, has it really improved much? Has our society made any progress at all?钱理群的看法:不一定同意刘晓波的所有观点和做法,这是另一回事;但刘晓波属于平和、理性的批评者,对他都要判刑,是一种虚弱的表现,觉得很难接受,
Qian Liqun:
I don’t necessarily agree with all of Liu Xiaobo’s views and methods, but that’s beside the point; Liu Xiaobo is a peaceful and rational critic and to incarcerate him for this is a sign of weakness, one very difficult to accept.