While reading about Liu Xiaobo and his wife Liu Xia I was introduced to the Chinese words lao baixing and Jūnzǐ. lao baixing means "ordinary folks", "the people", or "commoners and Jūnzǐ is a term coined by Confucius to describe his ideal human. Liu and 3 other men were honored with the title the 4 junzis of Tienanmen Square for negotiating with the Army  a peaceful exit of students from the Square. On Amnesty International's site Jean-Philippe Béj writes about Liu,  "A man who had been interested mostly in debating with the elites, discovered the courage, the intelligence, and the political sophistication of the common people – the lao bai xing." I found myself thinking about my charge as a Christian to walk in Jesus' footsteps striving to be a junzis. It seems not so unlike other great people, Mohammed, Gandhi, King, Mother Teresa and  Aung San Suu Kyi. To be the ideal person for the people is a most noble and daunting task. December 10, 2010 9:11 AM

Nobel Laureates Pressure China over Liu Xiaobo

Posted by Joshua Norman A group of prominent international figures, all former Nobel Peace Prize winners, have called upon the Chinese government to release the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize Winner Liu Xiaobo from jail and have offered to mediate negotiations to do so. On Friday, President Barack Obama also said Liu stands for universal human values and should be released from prison as soon as possible, the Associated Press reports. More here.