BEIJING (AP) — The Latest on the medical condition of China's imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Liu Xiaobo (all times local):

5 p.m.

The Chinese hospital treating Liu Xiaobo says the imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate has respiratory failure and his condition is now life-threatening.

The First Hospital of China Medical University said Wednesday on its website that Liu needs a tube to be inserted into his windpipe to give him breathing support.

It said Liu's family has refused the tracheostomy. Liu and his family, who are being closely guarded in the hospital, could not immediately be reached for comment.

The hospital reported that Liu, who has advanced liver cancer, is also suffering from renal failure and septic shock, and that blood clots have formed around his body.

The ailing health of China's most prominent political dissident has become the subject of international attention, with supporters and several foreign governments calling for him to be released to go abroad for treatment.