I hope the people of Hong Kong will stand up for Edward Snowden

[Constitutional Paulicy]

Snowden needs to get on the next train to mainland China if he values not living in a cage the rest of his life.

There is an extradition treaty between the US and Hong Kong, but NOT one between the US and China.

If he goes to China he can buy time and apply for asylum to another country, stay in China, or travel to another country that doesn't have an extradition treaty with the US.

He can always come here (Taiwan). It's a short flight from HK and he doesn't need to sweat it. Taiwan isn't recognized as a country so there is no extradition treaty. Much better than mainland China for sure.

 

[Warlord]

The Chinese have a right to veto over extraditions. HK will do what its told on these matters by the CCP but not sure how this will go

 

[twomp]

According to this, Hong Kong has the right to reject extradition if they felt that the request was "politically motivated" or that Snowden would be prosecuted for his political opinions.

As such, article 3 of the treaty allows the Chinese government to refuse surrendering a person if it thought the surrender "relates to (its) defense, foreign affairs or essential public interest or policy".

Hong Kong can also refuse if the city or the mainalnd have begun proceedings for the prosecution of that person. Hong Kong can reject an application if the city felt that the request was "politically motivated" or that Snowden would be prosecuted for his political opinions.

Extradition requests can be made either through the US Consulate Generale in Hong Kong or Interpol, according to the treaty.

http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/...ong-kong-option-reject-snowden-extradition-us

 

[noneedtoaggress]

Oh for sure. All the other people who are working in security that are seeing things daily that are making them sick and want them to shout out and inform the people....are watching what's happening to Snowden.

They will make such an example of Snowden that all the other people will be compelled to close their mouths forever.

And then they will do their best to delete him from memory and scrub his digital existence online.

Except that such a high-profile whistleblower dying under questionable circumstances would likely fuel outrage in the US and serve to further the perception that the American Dream has become a Totalitarian Nightmare which seems to be increasingly becoming obvious by the week. They want to handle this in a way that will serve their interests without undermining them. Deep mistrust in their institutions is something they want to avoid because it doesn't help them continue to function. They're already in a PR crisis concerning American's trust right now.

edit: not saying that it's not an option though either. it's just not that simple.

That and there's a pretty big difference between intercepting people's data and "scrubbing" the internet. Mainly that the former is possible while the latter is not.

 

[zzzz8]

Hong Kong march in support of Snowden:

http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/...ong-march-support-edward-snowden-set-saturday

This is a nice start. However, I would caution everyone that people should set their expectations low and not expect too many people to show up. I would be pleasantly surprised if more than 100 people showed up.

 

[zzzz8]

Protest is going on right now:

http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/...pdates-support-edward-snowden-rally-hong-kong

 

[zzzz8]

Wow, 300 to 350 people in the rain. This is better than I expected, though I was secretly hoping (in my wildest dreams) that 1000 or more people would participate in the protest. But still, thanks to the people of Hong Kong!

 

[Warlord]

According to this, Hong Kong has the right to reject extradition if they felt that the request was "politically motivated" or that Snowden would be prosecuted for his political opinions.

When you've got the Speaker of the House (number 3 in the fascist government) calling you a traitor (treason is punishable by death) on TV along with Feinstein, Pelosi and the rest of the gang then it's hard not to see how a judge in a common law jurisdiction with an extradition treaty that sets a reasonably high bar can reject political asylum. And even if a judge does agree to extradite then the Politburo of the Communist Party of China have got a veto and may use it if there's enough pressure/public sympathy. Snowden has been very smart in his choice.

 

[UWDude]

I hope Snowden isn't in Hong Kong, and never was. I hope that is one way he and Greenwald are keeping each other safe.
I hope he learned the art of deception before he began, and have no doubts he did.
I hope he learned that when he set up his interview, he made the room look like it was a hotel he loved, and had pictures of, but actually was in a hotel in Sacramento or something.
I hope this kid is really, really smart.
I don't doubt he is.

I wonder if he can hide future time capsules. By storing files in randomly named and encrypted folders online at data dumps, and then having some kind of program that will kick a website into gear that fires up, and starts sending out emails to international press contacts, letting them know where to find the files, and the passwords to them.

That way, every couple of months or so, a new revelation can be made. And only he can stop them.

It makes the NSA very eager to capture him alive, but knowing that if they kill him, that there is no chance their secrets will be safe, and all the world will have access to 400 terabytes of top secret information... friend and enemy.

How's it feel, NSA? How does it feel to know the world... ...has access to records of you?
Not so fun when somebody has control of everything you wrote while believing it was private, is it, NSA spook?