BEIJING - A PROTEST took place in front of the United Nations office in Beijing on Friday, Human Rights Day, a UN official said, as the Nobel committee prepared to honour peace laureate Liu Xiaobo in Oslo.
'We saw a large group of people in front of the compound, and it was larger than in previous years on Human Rights Day,' the official, who refused to be named, told AFP.
The official could not give details as to how big the crowd was, whether there were dozens or hundreds of people there, or what they were protesting about.
More than a dozen security vehicles were stationed outside the complex in the city centre, and police were asking passers-by for proof of identity, an AFP correspondent saw.
A ceremony in Liu's honour is due to take place later Friday in Oslo, but neither Liu, who is serving an 11-year prison sentence, his wife - under house arrest - nor other members of his family will be able to collect his award.
Beijing has clamped down on dissidents, the Internet and the media ahead of the ceremony, with activists missing and strong security at his wife's flat.
Source: ST Online/AFP
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