TightWind is written by Kyle Baxter. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Liu Xiaobo, a Chinese literary critic and activist for individual rights and democracy, won the Nobel Prize last week for his work. He has been imprisoned by the People’s Republic of China for two years for his activism.

Sunday, his wife was allowed to meet with him and relay the news to him. He said, before breaking down in tears, that his prize is for the people who died in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Soon after, his wife was put under house arrest, and she is unable to call or otherwise communicate with anyone else.

This is hard to stomach. In 2008, Liu helped write what’s called the “Charter 08,” which is a manifesto signed by Liu and hundreds of other intellectuals in China that supports individual rights and constitutional democracy for the Chinese people. I suggest you read it; the charter is one of the finest pieces I have ever read detailing what government is and ought to be. They argued that the individual’s rights exist first, and government’s only reason for existing is to protect them. That is exactly right, and that principle is the fundamental underpinning of all free societies.

Liu is a good man, an intelligent, forthright supporter of individual rights and limited government in a country where doing so is a crime. As such, the PRC designated Liu a criminal and the Charter 08 “blasphemy,” and imprisoned him. Friday night, they arrested twenty bloggers, lawyers and academics who met for dinner to celebrate the Nobel Prize. There is nothing absolute in China but the state’s will.

These people deserve better than this. They, like all human beings, deserve the right to live freely, without fear of repression from their own government. I’m glad Liu’s victory is shining a light on the PRC’s repression, and forcing them to run scared, but it’s also sickening to watch it play out. They are imprisoning people for merely saying that each individual has rights and they should be respected.

He deserves our support, and much more than just a prize. He deserves to see a day when his people can live freely.