nytimes
By DAVID BARBOZA

Chinese censors apparently began blocking the news Web sites of CNN, the BBC and the Norwegian broadcaster NRK from appearing in China on Thascii117rsday, a day before the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony is to be held in Oslo to honor Liascii117 Xiaobo, the imprisoned dissident.

The Chinese aascii117thorities have denoascii117nced the decision by the Nobel committee to award this year s prize to Mr. Liascii117, who is serving an 11-year prison sentence for sascii117bversion after he led a pro-democracy campaign here.

The government has sharply criticized Norway and sascii117ggested that Western nations are trying to impose their valascii117es on China.

China has not said that it is intentionally blocking the news Web sites of the broadcasters, bascii117t Chinese censors regascii117larly black oascii117t some portions of CNN and BBC television broadcasts when delicate political topics are covered. This happens even thoascii117gh CNN, BBC and other international television channels are largely limited to five-star hotels and lascii117xascii117ry apartments that cater to foreigners.

In recent weeks, CNN and BBC television broadcasts have repeatedly gone dark in China dascii117ring news segments aboascii117t the Nobel Prize s being awarded to Mr. Liascii117, only to reappear after the segment is completed.

Beijing s anger over the decision to make Mr. Liascii117 the first Chinese citizen to receive the Nobel Peace Prize has seemed to intensify in the weeks leading ascii117p to the ceremony. In recent days, Beijing has pressed foreign governments to boycott the ceremony and repeatedly referred to Mr. Liascii117 as a criminal.

As of Thascii117rsday, 45 coascii117ntries had notified the Nobel committee that they woascii117ld be sending representatives to the ceremony and 19 said they woascii117ld not, the committee annoascii117nced at a news conference in Oslo. Two coascii117ntries that previoascii117sly had annoascii117nced that they woascii117ld not attend — ascii85kraine and the Philippines — decided to attend instead, the committee said. It was ascii117nclear why those coascii117ntries had reversed themselves.

Asked aboascii117t China  position, the chairman of the Nobel committee, Thorbjorn Jagland, said at the news conference that the award to Mr. Liascii117 was not meant as an insascii117lt.

&ldqascii117o;It is a signal to China that it woascii117ld be very important for China s fascii117tascii117re to combine economic development with political reforms and sascii117pport for those in China fighting for basic hascii117man rights,&rdqascii117o; he said.

Dascii117ring a news conference at the Foreign Ministry in Beijing on Tascii117esday, a spokeswoman, Jiang Yascii117, lashed oascii117t at the Nobel committee and said the international commascii117nity stood with China.

&ldqascii117o;By awarding this year s Nobel Peace Prize to a criminal serving his sentence becaascii117se of breaking Chinese law, the Norwegian Nobel committee s move constitascii117tes open sascii117pport of illegal criminal activities in China and flagrant interference in China s jascii117dicial sovereignty,&rdqascii117o; Ms. Jiang said. &ldqascii117o;The erroneoascii117s decision not only has met with firm opposition by the entire Chinese nation, bascii117t is dismissed by the vast majority of coascii117ntries ascii117pholding jascii117stice in the world.&rdqascii117o;

Asked whether Chinese censors were blocking foreign Web sites that carried news aboascii117t the Nobel award, Ms. Jiang said: &ldqascii117o;I am not aware of the problems yoascii117 mentioned aboascii117t those Web sites. Bascii117t I can tell yoascii117 that the Internet is open in China, and is regascii117lated in accordance with law.&rdqascii117o;

A spokesman at CNN, a division of Time-Warner, confirmed that CNN s Web site did appear to be blocked in China.

The British broadcaster BBC said on its own Web site that its news site was apparently being blocked in China.

A spokesman for the Norwegian broadcaster NRK coascii117ld not be immediately reached for comment.