Prize-Winning Chinese Fire Drill

Organisers of the Confucius Peace Prize - China's alternative to the Nobel Peace Prize - say they are determined to give the award to Vladimir Putin, despite opposition from Beijing.  The Culture Ministry announced earlier that the award would not be given this year and disbanded the prize committee.

But committee member Qiao Damo, a poet, says he has set up a new panel and insists that a ceremony will go ahead.  He said Mr Putin was chosen for his opposition to Nato's Libya bombing.  However, it seems he was made aware of the award, and he failed to turn up for the ceremony.

The Confucius Peace Prize was established last year, apparently with official backing from Beijing, shortly after the Nobel committee announced it was awarding the peace prize to Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo.  Mr Liu has been in jail since 2008, and the decision to award him the Nobel Peace Prize enraged Beijing.