China will hand out its own alternative peace prize just a day before the official gala ceremony in Oslo on December 10.

The honoree is Lien Chan, Taiwan's former vice president and the honorary chairman of its Nationalist Party, for having "built a bridge of peace between the mainland and Taiwan."

Billionaire Bill Gates, former South African President Nelson Mandela, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and the Panchen Lama, the second-highest figure in Tibetan Buddhism were the other nominees for the "Chinese Nobel" some of them have already received the prize in Oslo..

Due to China's unprecedented pressure, 19 countries' Ambassadors in Norway have declined the invitations for the Nobel Peace prize gala ceremony. Among them are Russia, Kazakhstan, Colombia, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Serbia, Iraq, Iran, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Venezuela, the Philippines, Egypt, Sudan, Ukraine, Cuba and Morocco

Prize winner Liu Xiaobo himself is not allowed to attend the ceremony, nor is any member of his family.

According to the Nobel commettee's rules. the award can only be collected by the laureate or close family. Liu is currently serving a 11 year sentence in jail, while his wife, Liu Xia, is under house arrest. Therefore, the organizers of the ceremony will leave an empty chair during the gala, symbolizing his absence.

It will be the first time in which there will be no one present to accept the Nobel Peace medal and diploma since 1936, when German journalist Carl von Ossietzky was seriously ill and not allowed to leave Nazi Germany.

In October, jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo has been named the winner of the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize despite a warning against the move by Beijing.

Norwegian Nobel Committee president Thorbjoern Jagland said in Oslo that Liu was "the foremost symbol of the wide-ranging struggle for human rights in China".

Liu, 54, was jailed for 11 years on Christmas Day last year for drafting Charter 08, which called for multiparty democracy and respect for human rights in China.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!