Fellow laureate decries China's Nobel literature winner

STOCKHOLM (AFP) - A past winner of the Nobel Prize in literature has called this year's choice for the award, China's Mo Yan, a "catastrophe", accusing him of "celebrating censorship", a Swedish newspaper said on Saturday.

Herta Mueller, who won the prize in 2009, told the daily Dagens Nyheter that she wanted to cry when she heard Mo Yan had been given the prestigious award.

"The Chinese themselves say that Mo Yan is an official of the same rung as a (government) minister," the Romanian-born writer said. "He celebrates censorship. It's extremely upsetting."

She noted that the laureate had copied by hand a speech by late communist ruler Mao Zedong for a commemorative book this year. In the speech, Mao said art and culture should support the Communist Party.