China’s version of the Nobel Peace Prize, the Confucius Peace Prize, was awarded to current Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin for his efforts at keeping world peace. The former Russian president beat out German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Yuan Longping, an “agricultural scientist.” The prize’s administration is overseen by an association under the control of the PRC’s Ministry of Culture and the prize was formed in response to the Nobel committee’s awarding Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo with the prize. Nine of the 16 committee members voted for Vladimir Putin for his opposition to the NATO bombing of Libya.

[AFP]