Obama calls on China to free Nobel prize winner Liu

US President Barack Obama called on China on Friday to release imprisoned Nobel Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo as soon as possible.

"Over the last 30 years, China has made dramatic progress in economic reform and improving the lives of its people, lifting hundreds of millions out of poverty," Obama, last year's Nobel peace laureate, said in a statement. "But this award reminds us that political reform has not kept pace, and that the basic human rights of every man, woman and child must be respected," he said. (Reuters)