The Hill News

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) noted the Nobel Peace Prize win by Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo on Twitter on Friday and called on the Chinese government to allow his movement to gain traction.

"Congrats to #LiuXiaobo! The Chinese government should cease its efforts to suppress #Charter08 movement," she tweeted.

Her office later released a longer statement.

"As this year’s recipient of the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize," it read. "Liu Xiaobo joins the pantheon of great leaders for non-violence, justice, and freedom throughout history ... His message of reform is an inspiration to the entire world.  He and fellow activists deserve the attention and partnership of freedom-loving people everywhere. I continue to call for Liu Xiaobo’s immediate and unconditional release, and for the Chinese governmen! t to adhere to its own constitution and respect the rights of the Chinese people."

Liu, 54, is serving an 11-year sentence for "subversion" related to his authoring of "Charter 08," a treatise demanding broad political reform in China.

The Nobel Committee noted he has been a spokesman for non-violent reform in the country for more than two decades, and that he participated in the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989.

The prize was the first for a Chinese dissident in more than three decades. 

This post was updated at 12:47 p.m.