Edward Snowden: Why the NSA whistleblower fled to Hong Kong
The man who leaked the NSA secrets to The Guardian newspaper says Hong Kong is one of the few places that both could and would resist the dictates of the US government.
This photo provided by The Guardian Newspaper in London shows Edward Snowden, who worked as a contract employee at the National Security Agency, on Sunday, June 9, 2013, in Hong Kong. The Guardian identified Snowden as a source for its reports on intelligence programs after he asked the newspaper to do so on Sunday.
The Guardian/AP
Beijing
Edward Snowden, the man who leaked NSA secrets to The Guardian newspaper, has chosen either luckily or on extremely good advice by seeking refuge in Hong Kong from possible prosecution.
A quirk of judicial history means Mr. Snowden could be safe from any US attempt to extradite him 鈥渇or months if not years,鈥� according to one of the former British colony鈥檚 top legal experts, Simon Young.
Though it is unlikely Snowden would be able to spend the rest of his life in Hong Kong, he will be able to use the protections afforded by Hong Kong鈥檚 judicial system, which is independent of the Chinese government.
If Snowden chooses to ask for political asylum, says Professor Young, head of the Centre for Comparative and Public Law at Hong Kong University, 鈥渉e is going nowhere鈥� in the foreseeable future. A recent appeals court ruling, he explains, means that 鈥渢he government cannot return anyone who claims that he will be persecuted鈥� in the country he came from.
That is because Hong Kong鈥檚 asylum law is 鈥渁 black hole,鈥� Young says. In the wake of the court ruling last March, the government cannot continue simply to follow rulings by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees on the merits of an asylum claimant鈥檚 case, as it has always done until now.
The Court of Final Appeal ruled that the government must independently determine the validity of asylum claims, but the authorities have devised no system for doing so. Legislation setting up such a system would take 鈥渕onths if not years,鈥� says Young, and any administrative plan the government instituted before a law was passed would be subject to challenge in the courts.
鈥淪hort of a criminal group getting to him, I think he is safe here,鈥� Young adds.
Snowden told The Guardian in an interview published Sunday that he had flown to Hong Kong on May 20, because 鈥渢hey have a spirited commitment to free speech and the right of political dissent.鈥�
The Guardian also said he believed Hong Kong was 鈥渙ne of the few places in the world that both could and would resist the dictates of the US government.鈥�
The United States and Hong Kong signed an extradition treaty in 1996, shortly before Hong Kong was returned to Chinese sovereignty. Article 6 provides that 鈥渁 fugitive offender shall not be surrendered if the offence of which that person is accused or was convicted is an offence of a political character.鈥�
If the US government does indict Snowden, and then asks the Hong Kong government to extradite him, the Chief Executive might refuse on the grounds of another clause in the treaty allowing him not to surrender a fugitive if doing so might implicate 鈥渢he defense, foreign affairs or essential public interest or policy鈥� of the Chinese government in Beijing.
聽鈥淗ong Kong will have to take instructions from Beijing on this,鈥� predicts Michael Davis, a Politics professor at Hong Kong University. 鈥淎nd I cannot see how Beijing benefits from tweaking the US鈥� by refusing an extradition request.
Should Beijing and the Hong Kong government agree to an extradition, however, it would be subject to judicial approval, and Snowden could decide to argue in court that he leaked information about NSA spying programs for political reasons, portraying any crime of which he might be accused as 鈥渁n offence of a political character.鈥�
Snowden might not win such a case in the end; nor would the courts necessarily grant him asylum, even when the relevant laws and regulations have been approved, because they might not regard prosecution in a US court as 鈥減ersecution.鈥�
But 鈥渙ne can take full advantage of Hong Kong鈥檚 legal system to challenge issues that may arise ... and that could take a long time,鈥� predicts Young.
聽鈥淗e has made a very wise decision鈥� to go to Hong Kong, adds the lawyer. 鈥淏ut I would counsel him to get legal advice.鈥澛�