The Chinese government has its own way of preparing for the presentation of the Nobel Peace Prize to dissident writer Liu Xiaobo. It is closely monitoring the activities of his friends and family, as well as critics and artists. Beijing wants to make sure no one will be able to pick up the prize in Oslo on 10 December.

His lawyer Mo Shaoping was picked out of a passport control queue at Beijing airport. “Your trip is a possible threat to state security” was the reason given by police. Mr Mo says he was on his way to a conference in London. His return ticket was only valid until 15 November.

According to police, the head of the law firm representing Liu Xiaobo could have been planning to make a detour to Oslo so that he could attend the Nobel Prize ceremony.

“Obscene”
Other Chinese people have been put under surveillance or even house arrest in the last month. China considers the awarding of the prestigious peace prize to Liu Xiaobo, who is sitting out an 11-year sentence for undermining the state, an obscenity. The Chinese authorities say the West is using the prize to embarrass Beijing.

The Chinese government has also sent letters warning foreign diplomats in Oslo not to attend the ceremony.

Appeal
Liu Xiaobo’s wife, the poet Liu Xia, is under house arrest. She has appealed to 150 friends, dissidents, intellectuals, activists, writers and artists inside and outside of China to go to Norway to pick up the prize. She has also approached well-known Chinese - like blogger Han Han – who certainly doesn’t present himself as a critic of China’s leaders.

Beijing has made it clear that trips to Norway will not be appreciated. People in Liu Xiaobo’s circle are being watched. On Twitter, around 100 of them have reported their experiences with the state. They are not totally isolated as most of them can communicate via internet.

Individual measures
The degree of intimidation differs per person. Artist Ai Weiwei was given three days house arrest when he organised a tongue-in-cheek protest against the demolition of his studio in Shanghai, but he is now free again.

Zeng Jinyan, wife of the human rights activist Hu Jia, in prison for inciting subversion, is usually high on the list of people who are cut off from the outside world. In times of political sensitivity, during important political meetings or on 7 June – the day the student protests were violently crushed on Tiananmen Square in 1989 – Chinese dissidents are usually unable to leave their homes or can only do so accompanied by a plain-clothes police officer.

However, Zeng is free to do what she likes in Beijing at the moment, although there is no way she would be able to leave the country. She twitters that Hu Jia’s sister, who has never been involved in politics, is not even allowed to travel to Hong Kong.

Madhouse
The measures do not just affect people in Mr Liu's circle: Beijing has a diverse group of critics, who do not particularly act as a united front. The elderly former journalist Tie Liu does not support Liu Xiaobo but, since he co-authored a petition against censorship, he has also been monitored. He is allowed outside to go for a walk but police intervene if he gets company, even if it is a friend who has nothing to do with politics, he reports by telephone.

No one can phone writer Yu Jie: his mobile phone does not work and his landline cuts off after 30 seconds. On Twitter he says the police have installed six cameras around his apartment. “Plain-clothes police sleep in the corridor outside my door. We live in a madhouse, though we are not mad.”