Beijing (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Liu Xiaobo could travel without posing a risk to his health to be treated abroad if Beijing allows it. These are the conclusions reached by two doctors, one American and one German who yesterday visited the Chinese Nobel Laureate.
In a joint statement, Joseph M. Herman of the University of Texas, Anderson Cancer Center and Markus Büchler of the University of Heidelberg write that they have visited Liu and that the dissident and his family have asked to continue their care in Germany or the United States.
In this regard, the two doctors say that " "While a degree of risk always exists in the movement of any patient, both physicians believe Mr. Liu can be safely transported with appropriate medical evacuation care and support. However, the medical evacuation would have to take place as quickly as possible."
Liu Xiaobo, one of the most important icons of democracy in China, has liver cancer in a terminal phase and has been allowed to leave the prison for treatment. When he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010 he was in jail, accused of encouraging subversion to state power.
In the face of growing international concerns about the dissident's health, a Chinese deputy minister for justice told the US and European diplomatic representatives that Liu was too ill to be transported. A few days later, however, he was given permission for foreign doctors to visit him.
In the absence of a reaction from the Chinese government, a statement by the Shenyang Hospital, which is treating the dissident, notes that "US and German experts say that Liu has no better options abroad."
