Liu Xiaobo News

China`s late Nobel Peace laureate and dissident Liu Xiaobo was cremated in a private, muted ceremony in Shenyang city under official watch on Saturday.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate who spent his last eight years as a prisoner of conscience died at a hospital in Shenyang, China.

"We find it deeply disturbing that Liu Xiaobo was not transferred to a facility where he could receive adequate medical treatment before he became terminally ill," said Berit Reiss-Andersen.

Chinese Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo died on Thursday from multiple organ failure, the authorities said, having not been allowed to leave the country for treatment for late-stage liver cancer as he wished.

Liu, 61, is being treated for worsening liver function, septic shock and organ dysfunction, and remains on dialysis, the hospital in the northeastern city of Shenyang said in a short online statement, its latest update.

The First Hospital of China Medical University in the northeastern city of Shenyang said Liu's tumour has grown and his liver is bleeding.

Liu, 61, was jailed for 11 years in 2009 for "inciting subversion of state power" after he helped write a petition known as "Charter 08" calling for sweeping political reforms.

The health of dissident Liu Xiaobo, who has terminal stage liver cancer, has worsened.

Liu Xiaobo was diagnosed in May while imprisoned for inciting subversion by advocating sweeping political reforms in China. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010 while in prison.  

Chinese President Xi Jinping`s visit comes amid heightened tension between China and the former British colony.

China should allow 61-year-old Liu to seek treatment elsewhere "if it would be of help," Ambassador Terry Branstad told reporters at his first public appearance since arriving in Beijing this week.  

China has cut off all official communication with Taipei and has upped military drills while Taiwan is developing home-grown defence systems in response to what it sees as a growing threat. 

Liu was jailed for 11 years in 2009 for "inciting subversion of state power" after he helped write a petition known as "Charter 08" calling for sweeping political reforms.

China's Zhang Dejiang kicked off his Hong Kong visit Tuesday by promising to listen to political demands from across society.