In the 1930s, the book Red Star over China, by the American writer Edgar Snow, did much to win Western sympathy and support for the Chinese communist movement and its leader, Mao Zedong, at a time when the US backed the government of president Chiang Kai-shek.
Snow became a legendary figure in China. Last month, to mark the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic, he was proclaimed one of China's top 10 international friends.
During his last visit to China, Snow was given the honour of standing next to Mao on October 1, 1970, atop the Tiananmen rostrum to view National Day festivities. On Mao's other side was Snow's wife, Lois Wheeler. When Snow became critically ill in 1972, the Chinese government sent doctors to care for him in Geneva.
Last Friday, The New York Times published a letter to the editor from Switzerland under the headline 'Stifling dissent in China'.
It said: 'Sentencing Liu Xiaobo, a signer of Charter 08, to 11 more years in prison under the trumped-up charges of 'inciting subversion of state power' ... is another black mark for China ... Chinese leaders remain oblivious to the internationally recognised principle of responsible leadership chosen freely by a country's people and continue to ignore the basic right to freedom of expression through open discussion.'
The letter was signed Lois Wheeler Snow, who is now 88.
China's decision to silence Liu, who took part in the drafting of Charter 08, a document that advocates human rights and democratic government, is proving costly in terms of the country's moral standing at a time when it is basking in international admiration of its economic success.