after it was announced that her husband had won the nobel peace prize, liu xia said that “for all these years, liu xiaobo has persevered in telling the truth about china and because of this, for the fourth time, he has lost his personal freedom." she also said that she would visit him in jail and "give him a big hug". after visiting him, however, she was placed under house arrest and her mobile phone number was canceled. liu xiaobo died on 13 july 2017 from liver cancer complications.