Dying Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo still pleading to leave China

Chinese Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo is still pressing to leave the country for treatment of terminal liver cancer, and his wife to go with him, even though he may not have long to live, his friends say.

The hospital in northeast China’s Shenyang where Liu, 61, is receiving care said in a statement on Tuesday staff continued to do all they could but his condition was complicated by ­organ failure and septic shock.

Liu’s friends said part of the reason he continued to seek permission to go abroad was in the hope his wife, Liu Xia, could ­accompany him and live in a “free nation”.

“Even though he only has one day left or even might die on the plane leaving China, we should still honour his wish,” said rights activist Hu Jia, a family friend. “This is his way of saving and ­expressing his love for Liu Xia.”

She has been living under house arrest since October 2010, a year after her husband was jailed for 11 years on subversion charges. Liu Xiaobo was released on medical parole after being diagnosed with liver cancer in May, and the couple have been seen together in video taken at the hospital that has surfaced online.

ends were also concerned about Liu Xia’s mental state, saying she admitted she was suffering from depression and a heart condition.

Bao Tong, a former top aide to late Communist Party leader Zhao Ziyang who was ousted in the 1980s, said Liu had expressed the wish to leave China on Sunday, even though he was severely ill.