Beijing ( CNN ) -- A day before the Nobel committee honors an imprisoned Chinese dissident with its peace prize , China ratched up the rhetoric calling the award `` an interference '' in its internal affairs . `` The Nobel committee has to admit they are in the minority , '' said Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu on Thursday . `` The Chinese people and the overwhelming majority of people in the world are against this . '' `` This is not an issue of human rights ; it is an issue of interference of internal affairs , '' she said . China has responded furiously since the Nobel committee announced its Peace Prize winner on October 8 . Officials have repeatedly called Liu Xiaobo -- currently serving an 11-year sentence for `` inciting subversion '' -- a common criminal and the award a Western plot against China . `` Liu Xiaobo broke Article 105 , a crime of instigating the subversion of state power , '' Jiang said Thursday . `` He went beyond general criticism of the state . '' `` Developing country to country relations should follow certain principles , '' she added . `` I think the Norwegian government should give careful thought to this . '' Meanwhile , several foreign news websites -- including CNN and BBC -- appeared to be blocked in mainland China Thursday . Also , Amnesty International said it had received report that Chinese diplomats in Norway have been pressuring Chinese residents into joining anti-Nobel demonstrations when the award ceremony is held Friday . However , the human rights group did not say how it learned of this , only offering that it has been `` informed by reliable sources . '' Several nations have indicated they will not attend the ceremony in Norway . The Nobel committee , which said it had sent out 65 invitations to embassies in Oslo , counted 19 countries that had declined so far -- including China , Russia , Saudi Arabia , Pakistan , Iraq and Iran . It is unclear , officially , how China 's stance has affected nations who have said they are not attending the award ceremony . But some have speculated that some nations are not attending the ceremony in an effort not to offend China or complicate business relationships it has with Beijing . Russian officials have said they are not going to attend the ceremony because its ambassador has a previous commitment . An official from the United Nations said the U.N. is not going to attend the ceremony , but said that is not unusual . The U.N. was not formally invited and usually does not attend the ceremony unless someone from the organization wins the award , the official said . Despite the Nobel committee 's announcement that Iraq will not show up at the ceremony , an official said that might not be true . Labeed Abawi , Iraq 's deputy foreign affairs minister , said officials had not yet decided if they would attend the ceremony . -- CNN 's Jo Kent , Richard Roth , Jomana Karadesh , Matthew Chance and Steven Jiang contributed to this report .
China has responded furiously since the peace prize was announced . It has called the prize a Western plot . Some international news websites are inaccessible in mainland China . Several journalists have said they will not cover today 's ceremony .