Two Chinese intellectuals, economist Mao Yushi and artist Ai Weiwei, were prevented from leaving the country, a move that is suspected to be motivated by officials’ concerns that they will attend next Friday’s Nobel Peace Prize ceremony for jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, the South China Morning Post reported. Mao, who signed the human rights manifesto Charter 08 that was co-authored by Liu, said he was stopped by immigration officers at Beijing Capital International Airport on Wednesday as he was leaving for Singapore to attend a conference. "I was told the grounds for barring me from leaving the country were ‘jeopardizing national security,’ without any further explanation," Mao said. Ai had cleared customs at Beijing airport and was waiting for his plane to South Korea when two border control officers told him he could not leave, as it would "harm national security," he said. Both Mao and Ai said they were not planning to go to Oslo.
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