Thorbjorn Jagland, chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, wrote an article in The New York Times recently, defending Liu Xiaobo by replaying the obsolete Western tune that "human rights stand superior to state sovereignty".

At least three factors prove that Jagland's contention is a fallacy.

First, human rights standards vary from one country to another. For instance, Sweden's well-developed welfare system is built on high taxation, which in the United States is regarded as compromising private assets. Protestantism has been retained in the United Kingdom and religion is a compulsory subject in schools, but this practice is unimaginable in France, thanks to the French Revolution.