Shenyang's First Hospital of China Medical University said on Monday that Liu, who has late-stage liver cancer, is suffering from a severely swollen stomach, low blood pressure and poor kidney function. That’s why the government has always been relatively comfortable with talking about Liu and others who directly and forthrightly challenge the system. READ MORE: Liu Xiaobo can be taken overseas, foreign medics say

Liu, 61, was diagnosed with liver cancer in May while serving an 11-year sentence for inciting subversion after he helped write a petition known as "Charter 08" calling for basic human rights and sweeping political reforms. “However, the medical evacuation would have to take place as quickly as possible.”

But the two doctors were also used in Chinese propaganda. "If a Nobel Peace Prize laureate dies in detention, it would batter China's image but only be a short-term political hit," said Mo Zhixu, a dissident writer who is friends with Liu.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo is in "critical condition," according to Chinese doctors.