Op-Ed: Nobel Peace Prize has become a political tool to promote the Western agenda

Recently, a group of U.S. lawmakers nominated three leaders of the illegal "Occupy Central" movement for the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize. The Foreign Ministry in Beijing in a statement on Friday urged the U.S. lawmakers to “stop meddling” in China’s domestic affairs, saying the 2014 protests were "downright illegal."

The nomination letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee was signed by a dozen members of the U.S. Congress, including Senator Marco Rubio and Representative Chris Smith, the chair and co-chair, respectively, of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China.

This is not the first time that the Commission has openly tried to undermine China in the name of human rights, nor is it the first time that the Nobel Peace Prize has been used to attack China. From the Dalai Lama to Liu Xiaobo to the current nomination, the Nobel Peace Prize has become a big joke, at least in the eyes of many Chinese — it looks like a prestigious prize for peace, but it is really a political tool to promote the Western agenda. 

The letter makes clear the ideological nature of the Nobel Peace Prize and shows how it has become a major channel for political and ideological infiltration into China. Thus, there is no surprise that the U.S. Congress members who penned the letter expressed their “deep appreciation” for the Nobel Committee’s “past willingness” to interfere in China’s internal affairs. Nor is there surprise that the U.S. lawmakers celebrated the protest leaders as “champions of peace and freedom.”

The illegal movement that the U.S. Congress members think deserves the Nobel Committee’s recognition was far from universally supported by the more than 7 million citizens of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. In late October 2014, the Alliance for Peace and Democracy collected over 1.8 million signatures over a nine-day period of Hong Kong citizens who opposed the protests. And in November, a survey conducted by the University of Hong Kong found that close to 83 percent of Hong Kong citizens wanted the protests to end.

Rather than promote fraternity, as Alfred Nobel had wished, the peace prize has deepened ideological rifts. The decision to award the Nobel Peace Prize to Liu Xiaobo, who was seen by many as a pawn of the West, has brought discredit on the prize.

Now, the West is trying to weaponize the prize again. The U.S. lawmakers attempted to demonize China, assuming that the pressure would promote political change in China.

This is all a fitting reminder that anti-China forces remain committed to undermining China.

As described in the will of Alfred Nobel, the Nobel Peace Prize should be awarded to “the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, the abolition or reduction of standing armies, and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.”

If the purpose of the Nobel Peace Prize is to promote peace, there are thousands of Chinese who are qualified to receive the prize. One must ask why only those who oppose China’s ruling party and the Chinese government and who seek separation are chosen for the prize.