Nobel Peace Committee to hail Liu with empty chair

With the guest of honour stuck in a Chinese prison, this year's Nobel Peace Prize ceremony will centre around an empty chair, as its celebration of dissident Liu Xiaobo continues to split the global community and infuriate Beijing.
"An empty chair, that will make a strong impression," Nobel Institute director Geir Lundestad told AFP ahead of Friday's ceremony in Oslo.
"This emphasises the relevance of the Nobel Committee's choice this year and shines a light on the human rights situation in China," he added.
Friday will mark only the second time in the more than 100-year history of the prize that neither the laureate nor a representative will be able to come accept the award.
The only other time was when German journalist and pacifist Carl von Ossietzky, who was locked up in a Nazi concentration camp, could not travel to Oslo for his prize ceremony in 1936.
Like Ossietzky, who was the first-ever regime critic to receive the prestigious award, Liu has long been an outspoken opponent of Chinese leadership in Beijing.