Chinese cartoonists have field day with NSA revelations
鈥� A daily summary of global reports on security issues.
The Chinese media are gleefully reporting recent leaks about widespread US surveillance programs, while a prominent Chinese dissident is expressing dismay that the US is "behaving like China."听
The top-secret programs came to light last week after contractor Edward Snowden divulged information about the scale of government reach into phone and online communication records.
Mr. Snowden鈥檚 journey has been covered by news outlets from Spain to Saudi Arabia, with headlines like 听听听and听""听slapped on front pages and websites.
The Chinese media have been particularly interesting to watch, given Snowden鈥檚 decision to seek refuge in Hong Kong.听Snowden he chose to flee to Hong Kong because 鈥渢hey have a spirited commitment to free speech and the right of political dissent鈥� 鈥撎齛nd China鈥檚 own history of state surveillance.
"For months, , but it turns out that the biggest threat to the pursuit of individual freedom and privacy in the US is the unbridled power of the government," The China Daily quoted Li Haidong from China Foreign Affairs University.
A depicts a US emblem of freedom 鈥� The Statue of Liberty 鈥� trailed by a shadowy spy wearing headphones and carrying recording devices.
Mr. Snowden鈥檚 leaks now put Chinese media in an interesting position. They can speak out against the US program, , reports The New York Times. They cite another Chinese outlet, The Global Times, which wrote this week: 鈥淲e are not bystanders. The issue of whether the U.S. as an Internet superpower has abused its powers touches on our vital interests directly.鈥�
The Atlantic posted a cartoon from The Global Times as well, depicting the US National Security Agency seal: but the听 of the seal is dressed as a classic spy.
China鈥檚 state media today implied the scandal could hurt US-Chinese relations, a comment that comes just days after President Obama met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in California. In the leadup to Mr. Xi鈥檚 visit last week, 海角大神 wrote that 鈥淪trategic trust between the world鈥檚 top two economies is at a dangerously low level, worn away recently in a number of ways.鈥� Top on that list? Accusations from Washington that Beijing used 鈥渕assive commercial espionage.鈥�
The New York Times reports that the presidents seemed to 鈥渟peak past each other鈥� last week when it came to 鈥淎merican accusations that Chinese corporations linked to the .鈥�
Chinese dissident Ai Weiwei wrote in the Guardian this week that the US is 鈥渂ehaving like China.鈥� He referred to the program, Prism, as 鈥�. This is an important moment for international society to reconsider and protect individual rights.鈥�
In our experience in China, basically there is no privacy at all 鈥� that is why China is far behind the world in important respects: even though it has become so rich, it trails behind in terms of passion, imagination and creativity鈥�.
[Prism] puts individuals in a very vulnerable position. Privacy is a basic human right, one of the very core values. There is no guarantee that China, the US or any other government will not use the information falsely or wrongly. I think especially that a nation like the US, which is technically advanced, should not take advantage of its power. It encourages other nations鈥�.
When human beings are scared and feel everything is exposed to the government, we will censor ourselves from free thinking. That's dangerous for human development鈥�. We must not hand over our rights to other people. No state power should be given that kind of trust. Not China. Not the US.
