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A bizarre play by Snowden, who seems to have gone to Hong Kong in order to be in the strange space that currently exists between the US and China right now, whe
by Jd 13y ago
A bizarre play by Snowden, who seems to have gone to Hong Kong in order to be in the strange space that currently exists between the US and China right now, where despite the normal standard of extradition from HK to the US, there exists the possibility of a Chinese veto. Here, I think Snowden is primarily stalling for time, saying that if China helps his cause (i.e. not allowing him to be extradited) he might do something that helps China.
I don't really know how I feel about this either ethically or as a strategy, but it certainly could play out to Snowden's personal advantage after a bit of time on the international stage. I'd imagine some pretty senior level guys will get involved, and they will decide what to do with Snowden.
That said, regardless of his ultimate fate, this does seem like a legitimate and probably successful tactic for him to buy himself a bit more time in Hong Kong. The Chinese government will probably want to know what he knows, but they will presumably also have to wait for him to reveal what he is willing to over time.
Keep in mind Snowden has already hinted he knows some pretty "dirty secrets" and given his crypto background, etc. it is possible he has some sort of other treasure trove of documents that he hasn't handed over to the reporters yet -- this is sort of an ugly and dangerous game, but I'm sure he knew that from the moment he set things in motion.
- aswanson 13y agoI'm not so certain he thought things through as far you give him credit for. He seems to be just playing it by ear; not the long-term consequence type thinker. How noble is it to give up state secrets from a country that monitors its citizens to a country that more heavily monitors its citizens, actively represses the flow of information into its borders, and allows only one political party. He's starting to look stupid and short-sighted if this is true.
- tdirect 13y agoI don't think he has given any information from one country to another. He has revealed to the American people that they are taking an offensive rather than merely defensive role in a hacking war with China. This is important for the American people to know--how can anyone come to a reasonable conclusion about the issue if they only hear the government line that China is hacking and the U.S. is just defending? China has also received this information, but it's ridiculous to believe they didn't already know there were hacking attempts.
- Jd 13y agoI agree "if it is true," but the interview makes him look like a fairly smart sort of fellow and he has obviously been considering this for a long time (5+ years), so at the very least he's probably thought through the details more than anyone currently discovering this story via Hacker News.