Chinese elite push for release of jailed Nobel laureate

An image of Liu Xiaobo is projected on a hotel in the centre of Oslo following the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony December 10, 2010. REUTERS/Toby Melville

BEIJING (Reuters) - A group of "princelings", children of China's political elite, has quietly urged the Communist Party leadership to release jailed Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo on parole to improve the country's international image, two sources said.

Liu's release is not high on the agenda of the party, which is trying to push through painful economic, judicial and military reforms amid the most extensive crackdown on corruption in over six decades, the sources with ties to the leadership said, requesting anonymity.