China faced sustained international pressure today to let cancer-stricken Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo seek treatment abroad. <br/><br/>Official hospital updates suggest the democracy champion is close to death. The United States and Germany voiced concerns over the 61-year-old writer after the hospital treating him said yesterday he had organ failure and difficulty in breathing. <br/><br/>The doctors said Liu needed to be on artificial ventilation to be kept alive.<br/><br/>Liu, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison for subversion in 2009, was admitted to the hospital after he was transferred from prison due to late-stage liver cancer.