[Assentesy]

Benjamin Carlson June 24, 2012 06:48 | Global Post

HONG KONG, China — Just because Norway is small and peace-loving doesn’t mean it can’t get into
an icy confrontation with a country 273 times its size.

Two years after the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, China continues
to quietly punish the oil-rich Scandinavian nation with soft sanctions and diplomatic snubs.

Last week, the freeze hit a new high mark as Chinese officials denied Norway’s former prime minister
Kjell Magne Bondevik a visa. Bondevik, a Lutheran pastor, was planning to attend a meeting of the
World Council of Churches held in Nanjing



While a Chinese spokesman said that the decision should not be "over-interpreted," an editorial
in China’s nationalist Global Times newspaper said the move sent a clear message:

The Norwegians “must pay the due price for their arrogance,” the editors wrote. “This is also how China
can build its authority in the international arena.”

Since 2010, when a committee of Norwegians granted the Nobel to a Chinese dissident, Beijing has
waged a subtle campaign against the country, suspending free-trade talks, shunning diplomats, and
imposing soft sanctions on Norwegian salmon, causing imports to plummet.

Despite the freeze, Norwegian officials say that they hold nothing against China and simply want to
restore relations.

Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre told Aftenposten that “Norway regrets the situation. We are well
aware of the Chinese Government’s views on both the peace prize award and the recipient and have taken
note of this. We are interested in moving forward together with the Chinese government.”