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China would turn Snowden over to US authorities only in exchange for the return of Chinese protesters given asylum in the US. The "China is an oppressive regim
by grandalf 13y ago
China would turn Snowden over to US authorities only in exchange for the return of Chinese protesters given asylum in the US.
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.
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.
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.
- rayiner 13y ago> The "China is an oppressive regime" meme It's not a meme. It's fact.
- 286c8cb04bda 13y ago> It's not a meme. It's fact. Those are not mutually exclusive.
- cloudwizard 13y agoThis brings up the idea that Snowden fled the US to a place that he felt would be more free.
- chatmasta 13y agoHK != China
- mhurron 13y agoHong Kong is China and has been since 1997.
- mason55 13y agoThat's not true at all. He just needed to go somewhere that both a) would resist the US's judicial attempts at extradition and b) would resist the US's extrajudicial attempts at extradition. HK is probably one of the few places that satisfy both.