In China, a high-profile group of academics and lawyers has calledfor the release of jailed Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo. The groupcirculated a petition on the internet calling not only for his releasefrom prison, but for democratic reforms in China. More than 100scholars, activists and lawyers took part in the campaign. Earlierthis week, a group of retired former senior members of the CommunistParty circulated their own letter calling for an end to censorship ofthe media in China. The Chinese government sees Liu has a criminalintent on overthrowing the Communist Party.