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| Hong Kong Police Accuse Man of Inciting Protests | Hong Kong Police Accuse Man of Inciting Protests |
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| HONG KONG — Hong Kong police said Sunday that a protester had been arrested and accused of encouraging others on an online message board to confront police officers, the first arrest of that kind since the start of large street demonstrations began in late September. | |
| The 23-year-old man arrested Saturday is accused of inciting others to “join the unlawful assembly in Mong Kok, to charge at police and to paralyze the railways,” according to a police statement issued Sunday. | The 23-year-old man arrested Saturday is accused of inciting others to “join the unlawful assembly in Mong Kok, to charge at police and to paralyze the railways,” according to a police statement issued Sunday. |
| “I stress, inciting others to commit criminal acts on the Internet is illegal,” a police spokesman, Hui Chun-tak, told reporters on Sunday afternoon. “Police will investigate, gather evidence and take arrest action.” | “I stress, inciting others to commit criminal acts on the Internet is illegal,” a police spokesman, Hui Chun-tak, told reporters on Sunday afternoon. “Police will investigate, gather evidence and take arrest action.” |
| In the Mong Kok neighborhood, three consecutive nights of confrontations between the police and protesters were followed on Sunday by a quieter night, particularly after midnight. | |
| Sunday evening protests started off boisterous, with hundreds of police officers facing a large, noisy crowd of demonstrators at the series of barricades that now block Nathan Road, a main traffic artery through the neighborhood. But two pro-democracy lawmakers, Fernando Cheung and Claudia Mo, showed up and quieted the crowd, while the police announced that they would reduce the number of officers that they had deployed. | |
| In the hours just before sunrise Monday, several hundred protesters slept on the road while several dozen police officers watched quietly, their riot helmets clipped to their belts or lying on the pavement at their feet. | In the hours just before sunrise Monday, several hundred protesters slept on the road while several dozen police officers watched quietly, their riot helmets clipped to their belts or lying on the pavement at their feet. |
| The police have said that blocking traffic in the semiautonomous Chinese city as part of a protest is illegal. But the arrest Saturday was the first of an individual accused of asking others to join such protests, raising questions of whether the police were tightening restrictions on what could be said online in an effort to quell the protests. | |
| Despite the authorities’ effort to shrink the demonstrations, which have blockaded some of Hong Kong’s most important thoroughfares for more than three weeks, the protesters have proved resilient, organizing themselves by communicating on the Internet and through social networking sites. | Despite the authorities’ effort to shrink the demonstrations, which have blockaded some of Hong Kong’s most important thoroughfares for more than three weeks, the protesters have proved resilient, organizing themselves by communicating on the Internet and through social networking sites. |
| Hours after a police operation to remove most roadblocks in the Mong Kok area on Saturday, thousands of protesters responded by retaking the previously barricaded territory in one of the most violent clashes since the start of demonstrations. | Hours after a police operation to remove most roadblocks in the Mong Kok area on Saturday, thousands of protesters responded by retaking the previously barricaded territory in one of the most violent clashes since the start of demonstrations. |
| At one point, the police estimated that 8,000 protesters were present, overwhelming the hundreds of officers: At least 26 people were arrested and 15 police officers were injured. The turnout was in part driven by an urgent call for support across Facebook and online message boards, which had long been the activists’ most effective platform to rally followers. | At one point, the police estimated that 8,000 protesters were present, overwhelming the hundreds of officers: At least 26 people were arrested and 15 police officers were injured. The turnout was in part driven by an urgent call for support across Facebook and online message boards, which had long been the activists’ most effective platform to rally followers. |
| The police have not disclosed the exact message posted by the man who was arrested Saturday, or where it was published. He is charged with “access to computer with criminal or dishonest intent” and “unlawful assembly.” The police have said that he also participated in the Mong Kok protest last Friday. | |
| “The majority of the laws in the real world are also applicable to the cyberworld,” Mr. Hui, the police spokesman, said. | |
| Under current laws, any person who uses a computer “with intent to commit an offense” could constitute an offense punishable by up to five years in prison. | Under current laws, any person who uses a computer “with intent to commit an offense” could constitute an offense punishable by up to five years in prison. |