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.