CHINA ANNOUNCES CREMATION OF NOBEL LAUREATE LIU XIAOBO|劉曉波遺體火化 當局稱遺孀劉霞"自由之身"

On July 15, just three days after Liu Xiaobo passed away, the Shenyang Municipal Government announced the body of the Nobel Peace Prize laureate was cremated, and released photos of Liu's memorial service. [J] Liu leaves his wife Liu Xia, who has been under house arrest since 2010, and the world is now calling for her release. Chinese authorities claim that Liu Xia is currently free, but is simply saddened by the passing of her husband and does not want to be disturbed. Liu's immediate family has been unreachable by the outside world since his death. At 6:30 am on July 15, a funeral for Liu Xiaobo was held at a local funeral parlor in Shenyang. Liu's wife, Liu Xia, and his brothers came to take part in the funeral service. Looking pale and dressed in black, Liu Xia was supported by her brother during the service. The cremation took place right after a short mourning service, the authorities said, adding that the funeral service went ahead in accordance with the will of Liu's family members and local customs. ==ZHANG QINGYANG Shenyang Municipal Government Spokesman== Mrs. Liu Xia is a Chinese citizen. The relevant departments will protect her rights according to the law. As far as I know, she is currently free but emotionally grieving. She did not want too much outside disturbance. This is the wish of the family members. It is also human nature. Zhang Qingyang didn't reveal Liu Xia's whereabouts. Whether she was released remains unknown. Zhang said the authorities will respect the will of the family as to the handling of Liu Xiaobo's ashes and the location will be announced in due course. However, Hong Kong-based Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy said that the authorities forced the family to agree on an immediate cremation on the morning of July 15 so as to cover the news of Liu's death. Meanwhile, the connection with the outside world has been cut off by the authorities ever since Liu died and even the attention from the media has been diverted. The Centre was worried that the authorities will request a sea burial so that there will be no graveyard for the public to pay tribute to. It called on foreign governments and embassies to exert pressure on China to help the family keep Liu's ashes. TRANSLATED BY：BRYANT CHANG 諾貝爾和平獎得主劉曉波病逝三天，15號瀋陽官方宣布劉曉波遺體已經火化的消息，告別式的照片也跟著公開。對於劉曉波遺孀劉霞的現況，瀋陽當局強調她是自由之身，只是處在剛剛失去親人的極度悲傷。 劉曉波的告別式15號一早6點半在瀋陽渾南區殯儀館舉行，劉曉波的妻子劉霞、哥哥劉曉光、弟弟劉曉暄都到場送他最後一程。其他在場人士身份不明。穿著一身黑衣的劉霞，看起來相當虛弱蒼白，還要由弟弟劉暉攙扶。簡短儀式後，劉曉波遺體隨即進行火化，所有程序都結束。中國官方才對外宣布消息，並強調劉曉波的後事，都是依照當地習俗以及家屬意願進行。 ==瀋陽市政府新聞發言人 張清洋== 劉霞女士是中國公民 中國有關部門會依法 保護她的合法權益 據我了解 劉霞現在是自由的 但是剛剛失去親人極度悲傷 盡量讓劉霞在劉曉波死亡後 處理後事期間不受更多的外界干擾 是家屬的希望 也是人之常情 張清洋並沒有透露劉霞人在哪裏，她是否已經獲釋，外界也不清楚，至於劉曉波的骨灰處理，張清洋說尊重家屬的意願，會在適當時機公布地點。 不過總部設在香港的中國人權民運資訊中心表示，劉曉波的家屬原本是想過了頭七再火化，但受到當局逼迫才在15號一早匆匆火化，為避免劉曉波的身後事消息曝光，中國當局從他過世後，就切斷劉家家屬跟外界的聯絡管道。甚至故意聲東擊西支開媒體。他們擔心中國當局，會進一步逼家屬海葬，以免劉曉波的墓地成為民眾聚集悼念地點，因此呼籲各國政府跟使館向中國政府施壓，讓劉家人保留骨灰。 記者 綜合報導