Snowden Tugs at Hong Kongers' Heartstrings

Snowden Tugs at Hong Kongers' Heartstrings
United Daily News editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
June 18, 2013

Summary: The best way for Beijing to deal with Snowden, and adhere to Western nations' standards for human rights, is to allow the Hong Kong government to deal with Snowden on its own, in accordance with public opinion. Last year Chen Guangcheng defected to the United States Embassy in Beijing. Eventually he got his wish and made his way to the United States. This year Edward Snowden has defected to Hong Kong. Surely the bar cannot be set lower now.

Full Text below:

Twenty-seven Hong Kong citizens' groups took to the streets yesterday. They called on the Hong Kong Government to protect Edward Snowden, a former National Security Agency (NSA) employee and whistleblower who has taken refuge in Hong Kong. They forced Hong Kong Chief Executive CY Leung to publicly promise that he would deal with the matter "according to the law." Is Snowden a hero or a traitor? This answers the question. He may be a fugitive wanted by the U.S. government. But in cyberspace he is a hero. Hong Kong is his hiding place the non-virtual world. Hong Kongers feel obligated to come to his defense.

According to a South China Morning Post poll, nearly half of the people in Hong Kong oppose turning Snowden over to the United States. Only 17% favor surrendering him to US authorities. A full 33% of those polled see Snowden as a hero. Only 13% consider him a traitor. About 23% consider him somehwere in between. Public passions in Hong Kong may fluctuate on certain issues, but they never dissipate entirely.

Outsider may be skeptical of Hong Kong's post-retrocession autonomy. But as far the Snowden incident is concerned, the "one country, two systems" arrangement has led to this intriguing development. On the one hand, it has forced Beijing to stand down. On the other hand, it has enabled Hong Kong to go on the attack. This amounts to a one two punch to the United States. The incident has answered another question for Beijing. Is Snowden a gift from heaven, or a hot potato? The answer is, he is clearly not the latter.

The Snowden incident has tugged at peoples' heartstrings for three reasons. One. Snowden chose to break the news when Obama and Xi Jinping were meeting to discuss cyberwarfare. This caused the U.S. government no end of embarrassment. Without even drawing his sword, Xi Jinping was promptly rendered unassailable. Two. Snowden chose Hong Kong, a free port, to make his appearance, This posed a problem for U.S. diplomacy. It also put Beijing's handling of Hong Kong to the test. Three. Netizens the world over were made aware of the United States 1984 style "Big Brother" intelligence gathering methods. They were shocked and disgusted. The US has long touted itself as the world's champion of freedom and human rights. The discrepancy between the rhetoric and the reality left them deeply disillusioned. Obama's image also took a hit.

It was in just such a political atmosphere that Hong Kongers came forward to support Snowden. Snowden said he chose to flee to Hong Kong because Hong Kong was so free. Some think Snowden lacked a clear understanding of Hong Kong. They said he went from the frying pan into the fire. But from another perspective, it was precisely his assertion that Hong Kong was so free that sent waves of emotion through Hong Kongers's hearts, and made them so willing to protect him, and fight the erosion of freedom in Hong Kong. The June 4th candlelight vigil commemorating the Tiananmen Incident took place a few days earlier. As a result, the organizers of the protest march praised Snowden for sacrificing his own freedom to defend others' freedom of speech and fredoom of expression.

Practically speaking, is Hong Kong really a place Snowden can pin his hopes on? Can he eventually defect to Iceland? For the moment it is hard to say. The Hong Kong Government has been placed in an awkward position. Behind the scenes, it must comply with the CCP's diplomatic strategy. On this matter, Hong Kong has no choice. On the surface, Beijing certainly has no reason to rollover for the United States. But could the situation change? Would that turn Snowden into a secret bargaining chip? It is hard to say. In fact, there are rumors that Snowden's leaks were orchestrated by the CCP. That is why the leaks were so perfectly choreographed.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been hiding in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London over the past year. Assange has suggested that Snowden seek political asylum in one of the Latin American countries. HIs implication was that Asian countries are likely to succumb to US pressure. His remark suggested a lack of trust. The British government has already forbidden airline companies to allow Snowden into the UK. Snowden's whereabouts have been a mystery for many days. Has he quietly fled to a third country? Or is he still under the protection of private individuals or the CCP? Everyone is wondering.

To be sure, the more Hong Kongers stand up for and express solidarity with Snowden, the less likely he is to be secretly extradited to the United States. More and more netizens are expressing solidarity with him. The likelihood that US security agencies will deal with Snowden illegally is diminishing. When the Prism Project came to light, the U.S. Government immediately tried to appease domestic public opinion. It insisted the plan was directed only at foreigners, rather than the American public. These words grated on the ears of foreign governments, especially those who see themselves as allies of the United States. These words were difficult for them to swallow. Snowden exposed the recklessness of U.S. security agencies, the high-handedness of the U.S. government, and the servility of major technology companies who kowtowed to their political authority.

The best way for Beijing to deal with Snowden, and adhere to Western nations' standards for human rights, is to allow the Hong Kong government to deal with Snowden on its own, in accordance with public opinion. Last year Chen Guangcheng defected to the United States Embassy in Beijing. Eventually he got his wish and made his way to the United States. This year Edward Snowden has defected to Hong Kong. Surely the bar cannot be set lower now.

史諾登挑動了香港人的心弦
【聯合報╱社論】
2013.06.18 02:02 am

香港廿七個公民團體日昨上街遊行，要求港府保護目前隱身香港的前中情局洩密雇員史諾登，並迫使特首梁振英表態會「依法處理」。史諾登究竟是英雄還是叛徒，由此大致得到答案：他雖是美國政府通緝的要犯，卻是網路世界的英雄；香港作為其藏身之實體世界，港人自覺有義務要聲援他。

根據南華早報的民調，有近半數的香港人反對將史諾登交給美國，只有一成七的人贊成將他交出。三成三的受訪者把史諾登視為「英雄」，僅一成三市民認為他是「叛徒」，兩成三的人認為他介乎兩者之間。香港的民意對特定議題雖然時有起落，向來不褪流行。

儘管外界對香港回歸後的自主地位抱持懷疑，但在史諾登事件上，「一國兩制」的設計恰好在此構成一個巧妙的帷幕，一方面讓北京「退可守」，一方面是香港「進可攻」，可分進合擊因應美國。如此，也就答覆了此一事件的另一項提法：對北京而言，史諾登是天下掉下來的禮物還是燙手山芋？答案顯非後者。

史諾登事件之所以如此扣人心弦，一是他選擇在歐巴馬和習近平會晤談「網軍戰爭」時爆料，給了美國政府一個莫大的難堪，習近平刀不出鞘即立於不敗之地；二是他選擇在自由港的香港現身，既挑戰美國的外交能耐，又考驗北京對香港的操控尺度；三是對全球的網路使用者而言，得悉美國以幾近「老大哥」的手法包山包海地監聽情蒐，不僅深覺震驚與反感，也對美國標榜自由人權的表裡不一感到失望，歐巴馬的形象也因而受創。

這樣的氛圍，給了香港人挺身聲援史諾登的正當性。史諾登聲稱，他選擇避居香港，是因為香港很自由。這點，有人認為是史諾登對香港認識不清，使他「才出虎穴，又入狼窩」。但換個角度看，也正是「香港很自由」這句話，激起了香港人內心的漣漪，願意起而保護他，同時維護香港日漸消褪的自由。何況，六四的紀念燭光晚會才過了沒幾天。也因此，遊行發起人在演說中，讚許史諾登是犧牲了自己的自由，來捍衛其他人的言論和通訊自由。

務實地看，香港是否真為史諾登可以寄託希望的地方，他最後能否如願投奔冰島，目前尚難斷言。港府在曖昧表態之餘，背後還得配合中共的外交戰略行事，這是香港的不由自主。表面上，北京當然沒有理由對美國示軟；但會不會在某種情勢變化下，讓史諾登被當成暗中交易的籌碼，則很難說。事實上，已有傳言指稱史諾登洩密事件莫非是中共一手主導，才會如此天衣無縫。

目前藏身厄瓜多爾駐倫敦大使館已逾一年的維基解密創辦人亞桑傑，即建議史諾登應向拉美國家尋求政治庇護；言下，他對易於屈從美國的亞洲國家，充滿不信任。而英國政府則已下令，禁止航空公司搭載史諾登入境英國。多日來行蹤成謎的史諾登，是否已悄悄前往第三地？或者他仍在民間人士或中共的保護之下，都令人好奇。

可以確定的是，有越多香港人民站出來聲援史諾登，他被私下交易引渡回美受審的機率就越小；有越多國際網路使用者站出來聲援他，史諾登遭到美國安全機構非法對待的機會，也就越小。事實上，當「稜鏡計畫」曝光後，美國政府立刻安撫國內民眾說，這項計畫針對的只是「外國人」，而不是針對美國人民；此話，聽在外國政府──尤其是那些自視為是美國良好盟邦的外國政府耳裡，不僅格外刺耳，也備感不是滋味。史諾登暴露的，不僅是美國安全機構的妄為，也是美國政府的霸道，和那些大科技公司向權力稱臣的卑躬姿態。

對北京而言，要依西方國家所謂的人權標準來處理史諾登事件，最好的辦法就是鬆手讓香港處理，把民意當成指標。去年投奔北京美國大使館的陳光誠，最後依其意願赴美；史諾登投奔香港事件，總不能低於此一標準吧！