Celebrating Nobel, woman arrested for splashing champagne
By the CNN Wire Staff
October 11, 2010 -- Updated 0951 GMT (1751 HKT)
Hong Kong, China (CNN) -- A woman celebrating the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to a Chinese dissident has been charged with assault for accidentally splashing champagne on a security guard outside the Chinese central government's liaison office in Hong Kong.
"The officer walked up as I was opening a bottle of champagne and he was splashed," said Ip Ho-yee, 22. "It was a minor incident. I never guessed that opening a bottle of champagne would lead to this."
Ip, who was arrested Sunday afternoon, made her comments in Cantonese.
The security guard was not injured, but he made a complaint, so Ip was arrested and charged with common assault, said Hong Kong police spokesman Lawrence Li.
"This is an absurd case," said Law Yuk-kai, director of Human Rights Monitor, a group based in Hong Kong. "This just shows who's the boss," Law said, referring to the mainland Chinese government.
The British returned Hong Kong to China in 1997, with China's promise that Hong Kong could continue to govern itself for the next 50 years. But critics of Beijing say the mainland government has encroached on Hong Kong residents' rights and interfered with the special administrative region's government.
Ip was released on her own recognizance and is to appear before police in late November, said the police spokesman.
She and others were celebrating the Nobel victory of Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, who is serving an 11-year prison sentence after repeatedly calling for human rights and democratization.
Liu was sentenced in 2009 for inciting subversion of state power. He is the co-author of Charter 08, a call for political reform and human rights, and was an adviser to the student protesters at Tiananmen Square in 1989.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the prize to him on Friday.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said the awarding of the prize to Liu was "blasphemy against the peace prize" that could harm relations between China and Norway.
The Nobel Committee stood by its choice and said it had expected China to react strongly.
"We have a very strong tradition of awarding the prize to human rights activists of many different kinds," Geir Lundestad, director of the Nobel Institute, told CNN.
"This is a tradition we are very proud of, and this is a tradition for which the Norwegian Nobel Committee has received much applause," Lundestad said. "We felt that if we were serious about this tradition, we did have to come to terms with the question of China in this perspective, and this is what we then did this year."
A record 237 names were submitted for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize, the Nobel committee said. Thirty-eight of the nominees are organizations. Nominees are not revealed for 50 years.
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賀劉曉波獲獎 市民被捕
香檳白泡變白色恐怖
蘋果日報 2010年10月11日
【本報訊】內地維權人士日前以「飯醉」（普通話諧音犯罪）為名，慶賀劉曉波獲諾貝爾和平獎，被公安帶走。聲稱「一國兩制」的香港，昨有約 30名網民到中聯辦外開香檳為劉曉波喝采。一抹香檳白泡，沾濕了閘前的中聯辦保安員，噴出了白色恐怖。保安員報警投訴，警察堅持以「普通襲擊」罪即場拘捕社運人士葉浩意。記者：雷子樂、夏志禮、鄭大康
「釋放劉曉波，我哋笑呵呵！」約 30名網民昨午 2時在中環立法會大樓集合，手持「中共人權衰到貼地」等標語，遊行到西環中聯辦賀劉曉波獲獎，要求中共放人。
警察在中聯辦大閘外架起兩重鐵馬，派出藍帽子把守。「今日係辛亥革命 99周年，我哋嘅革命精神都要變！」示威者高呼「釋放維權人士」等口號，開紅酒、開香檳，吃挪威煙三文魚，放紙花炮和平慶祝。
隔着重重鐵馬，網民葉蔭聰開了第一支香檳，泡沫噴到中聯辦的外牆。一名男保安員站到閘前手指指，示威者未有察覺。葉浩意再開第二支香檳，泡沫向天飛去，部份香檳越過鐵馬，沾濕了該名主動站前的保安。保安員又再手指指向警察投訴。網民則繼續高呼「釋放黃琦、釋放郭泉」等良心犯。
港式「飯醉」結束，警察隨即秋後算賬。警察阻止葉浩意離開，叫她就香檳泡濺保安員事件協助調查。示威者要求警察別浪費警力，胡亂拉人。警員向葉浩意表示，「一定要拉你」，罪名是「普通襲擊」。香檳泡「襲擊」中聯辦，令在場的社運人士哭笑不得。這宗「奇案」主角的葉浩意，被解往西區警署，傍晚獲准以 500元自簽保釋。
她獲釋後無奈說：「估唔到喺中聯辦門外，開香檳都會變成毆打。」她批評警察聽從中聯辦保安指揮行事，有欠中立。「如果真係襲擊，點解唔成個樽飛入去先？根本係意外噴到佢」。警方發言人表示，昨午接獲一男子投訴，指被一女子用酒精類飲品潑濕身體，其後以涉嫌「普通襲擊」罪名，拘捕一名 22歲女子，她將於 11月底返警署報到。
立法會保安事務委員會副主席涂謹申認為，警察拉人是有心「玩嘢」，「警察喺現場睇住，應該有基本判斷，冇合理懷疑就唔應該拘捕」。
除了到中聯辦抗議，支聯會青年組十多名成員昨日亦齊集中文大學的新民主女神像前慶祝劉曉波獲獎。他們原訂昨日為新民女底座重新上漆，礙於天雨被迫取消計劃。一行十數人於新民女前高叫「支持零八憲章、釋放劉曉波」口號，並於民女手持的「正義之書」上貼上「自由」、「民主」、「法治」及「人權」貼紙，象徵民女背負的象徵意義，與《零八憲章》對民主、自由及公義的訴求同出一轍。成員 Tammy表示，劉曉波提醒了世人大陸仍然有大批維權人士被無理對待，希望外界予以關注。
陳太：獎項是華人光榮
此外，由一批流亡中文作家和中國國內自由作家組成的獨立中文筆會，昨日亦於旺角行人專用區收集市民簽名，爭取盡快釋放筆會榮譽會長劉曉波及譚作人等一批維權人士。負責人表示，中國囚禁諾貝爾和平獎得主是國家之恥，盼中央政府盡快釋放劉曉波。
剛外訪回港的前政務司司長陳方安生昨回覆記者查詢時表示，對於劉曉波獲頒發諾貝爾和平獎感到十分高興。她指這是所有中國人應引以為榮的事情，希望和平獎可激勵劉曉波繼續為爭取民主而努力，並可鼓勵其他民主人士，同樣以和平、理性方式推動民主。陳太說：「國家有民主，才會有進步。」
葉浩意（右）在中聯辦外開香檳，濺中保安，警察指葉涉「普通襲擊」將她拘捕。王子俊攝
網民昨日舉杯慶祝，為和平獎得主劉曉波喝采。
話你知
律師：純屬意外難入罪
今年 4月大批市民在九龍城潑水節故意淋濕正在巡邏的軍裝警員。警察當時「因應節日的歡樂輕鬆氣氛，以較寬容務實態度執行任務」，沒有拘捕任何人。
昨日下午，慶賀劉曉波獲和平獎的香檳泡沫，意外地沾濕了中聯辦的保安員，警察卻以「普通襲擊」罪拉人。律師涂謹申表示，事件根本不構成襲擊，「根本都告唔入」。
根據法例第 212章第 40條，任何人因普通襲擊而被定罪，即屬犯可循簡易或公訴程序審訊的罪行，可處監禁 1年。涂謹申指出，若該名示威網民是以香檳的木塞，故意彈向保安員，還有可能指控她是有意襲擊。
「遇襲者」僅能民事索償
但昨天的情況是，網民葉浩意在中聯辦門外開香檳，泡沫向上發射，再下墮沾濕了站在閘門後的保安員。「事件根本就係意外淋濕咗保安員，好難證明到對方係有意咁做，多數都唔會告，就算告都告唔入」。
涂謹申續稱，在街上開香檳，即使是亂拋垃圾等罪名，也難以起控訴。若該名中聯辦保安員真的決意追究，最多只可循民事途徑向對方索償，要求對方賠償數十元的清洗衣服費用。
