Prominent Chinese dissident Wei Jingsheng on Thursday criticised the awarding of the Nobel literature prize to officially tolerated author Mo Yan, saying the move was meant to please Beijing.
Wei, often considered the father of China’s modern democracy movement, praised Mo Yan’s skill as a writer but questioned his actions including copying by hand part of a speech by late leader Mao Zedong for a commemorative book.
Saying that China also had other talented writers, Wei charged that the Nobel committee chose Mo Yan because his selection would be “more tolerated by the communist regime.”
“Thus, this award is not really based on true skill in literature but a reflection of the will of big business,” Wei, who lives in exile in Washington, said.
“Just look at the elated hype on the Nobel prize by the Chinese government before and after the announcement. We could tell that this prize was awarded for the purpose of pleasing the communist regime and is thus not noteworthy,” he said.
In announcing the first Nobel litreature prize to a Chinese national, the Swedish Academy said that it was honouring Mo Yan for using “fantasy and reality, historical and social perspectives” to create worlds reminiscent of William Faulkner and Gabriel Garcia Marquez.