Supplied file photo shows Liu Xiaobo (L) and wife Liu Xia standing close to each other at a location where he was hospitalized under the gaze of Chinese authorities. (Kyodo)
Liu Xia, the widow of the late Chinese Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo, plans to come to Japan for an extended stay soon from Germany, where she currently resides, sources familiar with the matter said Thursday.
The Japanese government has issued a visa for her with the status of “cultural activities” following an invitation from a private university for Liu to work as a researcher, the sources said.
She plans to come to Japan later this month and live in the Kansai region, the sources said.
Liu Xiaobo, an outspoken critic of China’s Communist Party and a democracy advocate, died at 61 in a hospital from liver cancer while serving an 11-year prison sentence for his involvement in drafting Charter 08, a manifesto calling for an end to one-party rule in China and for peaceful democratic reform.
Liu Xia was placed under house arrest after her husband received the award in 2010. In 2018, she moved to Germany, where she had a close friend, and has lived there since.
Her departure from China was allowed a day after then Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and then German Chancellor Angela Merkel held a meeting in Berlin, where they are believed to have discussed the issue.
Liu Xia, who has previously enjoyed sightseeing in Japan, hopes to migrate here, the sources said, adding the German passport holder will carry out research in literature at the private university.
She has abstained from public activities after moving to Europe, as her relatives, who had wanted to leave China with her, are believed to be still living in the Asian country.
