that Liu had maligned other dissidents, forsaken the oppressed Falun Gong and that his stance against the Chinese leadership had become too "soft". Agence France-Presse reported that at a June meeting convened by the Chinese embassy in Oslo, Vice Foreign Minister Fu Ying warned the Nobel Institute director and secretary of the Nobel Committee, Geir Lundestad, that giving the prize to Liu Xiaobo would be seen as an "unfriendly gesture" that would have negative consequences for relations between Oslo and Beijing. On 7 October 2010, Norwegian television networks reported that Liu Xiaobo was the front-running candidate for the Prize. Irish bookmaker Paddy Power paid out two days before the announcement following an increase in bets. Shortly before the announcement, Liu's wife, Liu Xia, declined telephone interviews, saying the police were at her home. Her telephone went unanswered once the announcement was made. Nobel Committee chairman Thorbjørn Jagland made the announcement on 8 October 2010 in Oslo, mentioning that the choice of Liu had become clear early in the process. The monetary component of the prize would be 10 million Swedish kronor (US$1.5 million). At 2 pm on the day of announcement, a crowd of about 100 journalists, supporters, and friends who had gathered outside the main entrance to the Beijing housing estate where the Lius resided were denied entry. The South China Morning Post reported that policemen stationed inside their apartment at the time of the announcement prevented Liu Xia from meeting with journalists and other well-wishers. It was not immediately clear whether Liu Xiaobo was aware of the award. By that time, Liu Xia said she had been told she would be taken to Liaoning to see her husband in prison. Meetings and gatherings to celebrate in several cities were prevented or abruptly broken up by police; one such celebration dinner in Beijing, attended by 20 people, was broken up by police, and the attendees were detained. Reactions inside China Chinese media The Chinese media avoided the story of Liu's Peace Prize, in marked contrast with their previous announcements of other recipients of Nobel Prizes. The official Xinhua News Agency downplayed all but the literature prize, and most other mainland news portals followed the Xinhua lead; popular internet portals such as Sina.com and NetEase deleted pages dedicated to stories related to all five Nobel Prizes. According to a well-informed Twitter user, cited by the China Media Project at the