Some Chinese academics have been prevented from leaving China in an effort to tamp down any possible signs of dissent on the eve of the award ceremony for the Nobel Peace Prize, reports The Washington Post. This year’s award went to Liu Xiaobo, a former literature professor who is serving an 11-year prison sentence for “inciting subversion of state power.” The Chinese government, furious over the award, has also prevented some activists and lawyers from taking trips abroad, prohibited people from speaking out, and put others under temporary house arrest.