China's jailed dissident to get traditional medicine therapy

China's jailed dissident and Nobel Laureate Liu Xiaobo will be given traditional Chinese medicine therapy to treat his liver cancer, experts said even as Beijing rejected global calls for his treatment abroad.
Liu's wife Liu Xia has agreed to treat Liu with traditional Chinese medicine therapy after two top experts held a group consultation on him, state-run Global Times reported.
Two experienced experts specialising in liver cancer treatment from Beijing-based Guang'anmen Hospital and the Longhua Hospital under the Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine held a group consultation on treatment to be given to 61-year-old Liu, the report said.
He was receiving treatment at the No 1 Hospital of the China Medical University in Shenyang after his release on medical parole.

Liu is serving a 11-year sentence since 2009 for carrying out pro-democracy movement challenging the one-party rule of the Communist Party of China (CPC). He was accused of attempting to overthrow the government.
His relatives and international human rights groups had called for his release and permit him to go abroad to get better treatment. China had refused the permission to go abroad.

Experts said the hospital's diagnosis of Liu was conclusive and the treatment Liu received was clear. They suggested using traditional Chinese medicine as an adjuvant therapy to improve the sensitivity of drugs and reduce side effects, the report said.

After receiving consultation result from the experts, Liu's wife Liu Xia said she believed the hospital had done its best. She agreed to the traditional Chinese medicine treatment, and expressed her gratitude to medical experts, local officials said.
According to personal information recorded at Jinzhou Prison, where Liu served his sentence, he had hepatitis B before going to the prison.
The prison had organised physical examination for him once a year and had arranged a round visit every 15 days. The prison had added screen checks for hepatitis and tumour for Liu since 2012, the report said.