Wife of China's jailed Nobel laureate asks for doctor, husband's letters and job, friend says

BEIJING – The wife of Chinese Nobel Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo, depressed from being forcibly sequestered at home alone for the past three years by state security, is issuing a few humble requests: Let her see a doctor independently. Read her husband's letters. Make a living.

The requests conveyed Tuesday by a close friend depict the psychological, emotional and financial pressure Chinese authorities have imposed on Liu Xia, a soft-spoken poet, in retaliation for her jailed husband Liu Xiaobo's activism.

Chinese activist Zeng Jinyan declined to publicly disclose the source of her information for fear of more official retaliation.

But another close friend, Xu Youyu, a retired professor, said the requests were in line with what he had heard about Liu Xia from the couple's relatives and other sources.