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Veteran Chinese journalist Alex Lo has sarcastically demanded the renaming of the Nobel Peace Prize. He proposes that it should be called the Nobel War Prize. The comments come as part of his criticism of Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, who was recently awarded the honour.
The Nobel Committee made its formal announcement, calling him a “champion of peace”. “She keeps the flame of democracy burning,” he said.
Machado had previously sparked debate due to his past support for foreign intervention in Venezuela. While the Nobel Committee praised his non-violent struggle for democracy, critics argue that his past statements show a militaristic approach.
In 2019, he suggested that only the “credible and imminent threat” of international military force could remove President Nicolás Maduro from power.
He has also supported US President Donald Trump’s military presence in the Caribbean. He defended the US bombing of drug boats to stop Maduro’s illegal drug funding.
Reports claimed that Machado and his advisers coordinated with the Trump administration on possible plans to remove Maduro.
According to The Guardian, many experts are skeptical of his connections to radical right politicians such as US President Trump and former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.
Lo’s opinion on the South China Morning Post expresses similar concerns.
He noted that it was US Secretary of State Marco Rubio who nominated the Venezuelan far-right politician for the Nobel. Rubio was a senator at that time. US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz also supported the nomination.
Lo also reminds his readers that Machado told CBS News that only the US military can “stop the repression” in his country.
“Praising the head of the American empire, who has treated his own country like an enemy and is launching a military campaign, doesn’t sound very peaceful,” says Lo.
He added, “Whether Machado is a hero or a villain, a national liberator or a traitor, depends largely on your political position. But she does not seem to be the kind of peacemaker that Alfred Nobel had in mind.”
Meanwhile, some social media users pointed out that Alfred Nobel was also called the “merchant of death”. Was he? Here is the truth.
Alfred Nobel: Merchant of Death
Alfred Nobel’s brother Ludwig died in France in 1888. However, a French newspaper mistakenly published Alfred’s obituary instead. The headline read, “The merchant of death is dead”. The publication condemned him for making money from explosives and weapons.
Nobel invented dynamite and owned Bofors, a major arms company. This label had a deep impact on him. Concerned about being remembered for his destruction, Nobel decided to change his legacy.
In 1895, Nobel wrote a will dedicating the majority of his fortune to the creation of a prize that honored people who had improved humanity through science, literature, and peace. The first Nobel Prize, awarded in 1901, changed his image forever.
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