This is contradicted somewhat by a different source. This one says Hong Kong is a very good place to seek asylum right now, because there is a moratorium on deporting asylum-seekers:<p><i>But there is at least one reason it could be incredibly shrewd: Hong Kong's asylum system is currently stuck in a state of limbo that could allow Snowden to exploit a loophole and buy some valuable time.</i><p><i>Simon Young, director of the Centre for Comparative and Public Law at the University of Hong Kong, told GlobalPost that a decision delivered by Hong Kong's High Court in March of this year required the government to create a new procedure for reviewing asylum applications.</i><p><i>Until the government does this, he said, asylum seekers are allowed to stay in Hong Kong indefinitely.</i><p><a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/china/130610/why-edward-snowden-hong-kong-extradition-asylum" rel="nofollow">http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific...</a>
Have we seen a news report yet about how Snowden traveled to Hong Kong? His choice of destination may have been dictated by where he could fly on a nonstop airline flight from Hawaii, where he was last based. His travel documents, because he was contracting for the NSA, may already have had restrictions on which destinations he could fly to. (Such restrictions have been routine for NSA employees for more than a generation. Airlines check travel documents before you board a plane on an international flight, because the airline is responsible for returning you at no charge to you if you are denied entry for lack of proper travel documents at the border of your destination.) He may simply have had no better choice when he had opportunity to leave work and leave home.
This guy is not dumb by any stretch of the imagination. He also didn't make this decision overnight. If I had to guess, he planned this all very well with all considerations in mind .<p>The fact that he noted his location at all is interesting in that he obviously doesn't want to get caught. So why bring it up? He could have just as easily left that detail anonymous. Makes me wonder if there's a tactic in mind that we might not have seen just yet.
He might have an insurance policy. After all, he had access to other data so if they lock him up, they risk problems bigger than they could ever imagine.
He may have written a program that releases the information on a certain date. Or someone else has a backup and knows what to do with it.<p>Either that or he's no longer in Hong Kong, sort of like what McAfee did, tell everyone where he's at when he's really no longer there.
So when Snowden tells the CIA their office is across the street, it's no more than a tactic to mislead the CIA.<p>Either that, or he hasn't thought this through at all and I find that hard to believe.
> Hong Kong is the worst place in the world for any person to avoid extradition, with the possible exception of the United Kingdom<p>I'm British, and this both saddens and angers me. It's time for a change.
This stuff proves to me that these programs have no value in stopping things that have not yet happened. Like the boston bombings and this guy, I sure there was a huge trail of evidence that didn't get identified in time to stop the actual act.
China would turn Snowden over to US authorities only in exchange for the return of Chinese protesters given asylum in the US.<p>The "China is an oppressive regime" meme makes up a lot of US propaganda and is used to justify all kinds of policies. So the US is put in the awkward position of not being able to engage in the usual diplomatic trade.<p>Hong Kong is useful b/c it represents the future of Chinese society and is a concentration of wealth and influence. By letting Snowden stay in HK, China can appease its own population while also appearing to stand strong against the US government's demands.<p>The best hope for the USG is that this blows over. Snowden seems fairly savvy about the media's role and if he's able to continue to shape the discussion there might actually be meaningful outcomes.
> According to an interview with The Guardian, 29-year-old Edward Snowden, whose revelations have created a political uproar, has stashed himself in an unidentified luxury hotel in Hong Kong, a city he said he chose as the best place to hunker down given its “spirited commitment to free speech and the right of political dissent.”<p>You mean the place that has no political freedom to speak of and exists under the PRC's thumb?
Isn't a luxury hotel the worst place to hide?<p>I'm sure there are cameras and one is easily recognized when getting out of the room.<p>Or is this just a 48h maneuver to clear up the political situation and then if needed move to one of the embassies in HK that is more supportive?
Maybe he was ignorant, maybe he was spot on.<p>Maybe his hypothetical extradition will cause a sort-of diplomatic "mess" between Beijing and Honk Kong, leaving him a limbo where neither HK nor China will grant him total asylum but wont extradite him either
Here's a cynical interpretation: Hong Kong makes zero sense given that they are a) within Chinese sphere of influence and b) frequently extradites to the US. He's go other sensitive documents he may sell to the Chinese in exchange for money and sanctuary. So maybe that was the plan all along. Everyone focuses on the NSA wire-tapping scandal (which, honestly, I think everyone assumed was happening for years), and he gets a payout and some cover.<p>Too cynical?
All the press and comments assume his ultimate goal is to avoid extradition, which has not been requested so far. I think he know the consequence of his action very well. He wants to expose the government surveillance program and draw public outrage. If US government do request for extradition, this will go through the court system in Hong Kong. Hopefully it will be a fairly transparent system and give him another chance to raise the awareness of this program. He might end up in jail, but this would fulfill his goal, that is to expose the surveillance program to the greatest extend possible.
I'm also surprised he chose HK - it seems dicey to me. Off the cuff, there are other places that come to mind as being more promising spots. Having followed the Roman Polanski saga a few years back, for instance, I would have thought France would be a proven destination for anyone seeking to avoid US extradition.
I am baffled too, given that Ecuador offered Assange asylum wouldn't that be the most logical choice? I quick "vacation" down to Costa Rica and overland to Ecuador if you want to avoid raising suspicions and travel restrictions.
Then again, if Snowden were hypothetically spying for the PRC, Hong Kong would be the <i>most</i> logical place to seek protection. In this scenario the PRC would credibly protect him from the US, and European liberal democracies would not.
I've been doubting that he actually IN Hong Kong at the moment. He may have been there at some point and did the interview there, but I would have hoped he burned his location and is currently in another country.
Note to journalists: Please stop using the Orwellian term "Rendition". The proper term for bringing a suspect back to face a judge is "Extradite"
So why didn't he go to Iceland in the first place? And would Hong Kong let him out if he decides to leave right now, before the US issued any warrant?
what would really be the best place to hideout? are there any countries where he would be free of us extradition threats given his high profile nature?