New video shows Liu Xiaobo’s widow saying she needs to avoid public eye
‘I’m taking a rest in another place,’ Liu Xia says in the video published on YouTube. ‘Please give time for my heart to recover.’
A one-minute video of the widow of Chinese Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo surfaced on YouTube late on Friday, as officials and advocates worldwide call on the Chinese government to release her from an effective house arrest.
In the video, seemingly filmed after her husband’s death, Liu Xia said she had stayed out of public view because she needed time to recover from the loss.
“I’m taking a rest in another place,” she said in a weak, hoarse voice. “Please give time for my heart to recover. One day I will see you in a healthy form.
“When Xiaobo was ill, the doctors did everything they could. Xiaobo also saw life and death in an easy way.
“Therefore I need to try my best to adjust myself. In the future, when I have improved in every aspect, I will be with you again.”
The video showed her sitting on a couch, dressed in black clothes and holding a cigarette in her hand.
Liu Xia’s whereabouts have been unknown since Liu Xiaobo died of liver cancer on July 13 while in custody. She has been under house arrest since her husband won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010.