New Chinese Nobel Laureate Calls for Fellow Nobel Winner's Freedom BEIJING - Mo Yan, the new Nobel laureate who has strenuously avoided antagonizing the Communist Party during much of his career, stepped into a political minefield on Friday by calling for the release of Liu Xiaobo, the imprisoned writer and fellow Nobel winner who is serving an 11-year sentence for subversion. "I hope he can achieve his freedom as soon as possible," Mr. Mo, 57, told reporters during a news conference held a day after he won the 2012 prize for literature. He spoke not far from his family's home in rural Shandong Province, the setting for many of his epic novels. Even if Mr. Mo's remarks were spare and decidedly nonconfrontational - he went on to suggest he was not an admirer of Mr. Liu's pro-democracy essays - they are likely to infuriate China's leadership, which has been exulting in the Swedish Academy's decision to give China its first Nobel in literature. Beijing considers Mr. Liu a criminal, and the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to him in 2010 has long been seen as an effort to meddle in China's internal affairs. Despite the throng of Chinese reporters attending the news conference, Mr. Mo's comments did not appear in the state-run media. But they quickly spread via Twitter, electrifying Chinese literati, many of whom had been critical of his close relationship to the Communist Party, especially Mr. Mo's role as vice chairman of the government-run Chinese Writers" Association. Ai Weiwei, the dissident artist who a day earlier had criticized Mr. Mo for cooperating with the authorities and refusing to stand up for persecuted writers, said he was heartened by the remarks. Murong Xuecun, a prominent writer who frequently jousts with the censors, mused that Mr. Mo had felt inoculated by his newly acquired Nobel mantle. "Maybe all the glory has made him more courageous and more outspoken," he said in an interview. It is unlikely Mr. Mo's comments will derail his celebrity status, at least in the eyes of the government. On Thursday, Li Changchun, the nation's propaganda czar, issued a congratulatory letter heralding the prize as a sign that China's cultural influence was finally catching up to its size and economic heft. "Thus Chinese writers can contribute more to the prosperity and development of Chinese culture, as well as the progress of human civilization," Mr. Li wrote, according to the official Xinhua news agency. On Friday, Mr. Mo's face was splashed across the front pages of most Chinese newspapers. By morning, bookstores throughout the capital had already set up special display sections for his works. By the evening, many stores, as well as online commerce sites like Amazon, were already out of stock. The Global Times, a party-owned tabloid, made a point of describing Mr. Mo as a "mainstream" writer - as opposed to figures like Mr. Liu who are often ostracized at home but lionized abroad. "This suggests that the West doesn't only embrace individuals that are against the Chinese system," it wrote in a commentary. It cannot reject the Chinese mainstream for long. No matter what inspired the award this time, it is a welcome decision. We hope such appreciation of Chinese mainstream ideas can extend further. Even if Mr. Mo has strenuously avoided taking a stand on censorship or other politically delicate matters, those who follow his work say branding him as "mainstream" may be inaccurate. Eric Abrahamsen, a literary translator and publishing consultant in Beijing, noted that many of his richly detailed stories are subversive in their depiction of Chinese officialdom, even if couched in the outlandish magical realism that has become his trademark style. "He doesn't keep bashing himself against the wall by writing about forbidden topics but most of what he has written is critical of party politics," Mr. Abrahamsen said. His work is essentially a chronicle of how the Communist Party has messed up China. In a microblog post on Friday, Ran Yunfei, a sharp-tongued writer persecuted for his pro-democracy writings, said he was glad Mr. Mo had stood up for Mr. Liu, but hoped that Mr. Mo would wield his Nobel armor to stand up for those who have dared to speak truth to power. "He has become very skilled at walking on a tightrope," Mr. Ran wrote. Now that he has become a household name with the government's backing, it's only going to become harder for him to be a real critic of the government. Edward Wong contributed reporting, and Mia Li contributed research..