Liu Xia, the Widow of Chinese Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Liu Xiaobo, appeared to have lost hope of being released from house arrest soon , according to an emotional recording published by a friend .
“ Now , I ’ ve got nothing to be afraid of , ’’ Liu said in a recent telephone conversation with exiled writer , Liao Yiwu , published on the website chinachange. org .
“ If I can’ t leave , I ’ ll die in my home.
“ Xiaobo is gone and there ’ s nothing in the world for me now .
“ It ’ s easier to die than live ; using death to defy could not be any simpler for me . ’’
Liu has been kept under house arrest without charges since 2010 when Liu Xiaobo was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work campaigning for human rights in China .
A year before, he had been arrested for subverting state power .
He died while under medical parole in July 2017.
Foreign diplomats have reportedly been trying to negotiate Liu ’ s release and transfer abroad after her husband ’ s death with the Chinese government but to no avail .
Liu had expressed her desire to move to Germany .
( dpa /NAN)