Liu Xiaobo unaware of Szeto death
When the wife of jailed dissident Liu Xiaobo invited Szeto Wah to attend his Nobel Peace Prize presentation ceremony, the Hong Kong democracy icon's health was already deteriorating rapidly.
Since his death on Sunday, fellow human rights activists have been trying to pass on the news to Liu and his wife, Liu Xia .
Liu Xiaoguang , a brother of the jailed dissident, said he would tell the Nobel laureate of the news when they met next time. A Public Security Bureau official in Dalian told him a visit could be arranged in the middle of the month to see his brother at the Jinzhou prison, in Liaoning province.
The last time the two brothers met was in July.
Liu Xia is still under house arrest. Her parents and brother could not visit or call her, the centre said.
Szeto, chairman of the Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China who died of lung cancer at the age of 79, was an outspoken campaigner for the freedom of mainland activists.
Wang Dan and Wuer Kaixi , two exiled student leaders in the 1989 democracy movement now in Taiwan, have expressed a wish to attend Szeto's funeral. But it is unclear whether the Hong Kong government will allow their entry.
About 10 Civic Party members yesterday marched to the government headquarters, urging the administration to let them come.
Szeto's funeral will be held on January 29 at St Andrew's Church. Reverend Chu Yiu-ming, convenor of the funeral committee, said the venue could accommodate 320 people.
The committee will send invitations to Szeto's friends next week and reserve 25 to 30 seats for local government officials. Chu said no one from the central government's liaison office had been named on the invitation list so far, but it would consider including its officials if the office asked to attend.
In lieu of flowers, the committee suggested guests could donate money to the alliance according to Szeto's wish.
The Professional Teachers' Union, founded by Szeto, will set up a scholarship in memory of the veteran educator by September.
Meanwhile, the alliance, the union and the Democratic Party placed a book of condolence for Szeto at Statue Square in Central for the second day.
Former chief secretary Anson Chan Fang On-sang and three legislators from the Liberal Party were among those who signed yesterday.
VIP seats
Up to this number of seats will be reserved for local government officials at Szeto Wah's funeral: 30
