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It is actually a Hong Kong issue at this point, and there are a ton of (even British) lawyers in HK who would die to take this case. China is not likely to do a
by trevelyan 13y ago
It is actually a Hong Kong issue at this point, and there are a ton of (even British) lawyers in HK who would die to take this case. China is not likely to do anything to interfere in any fashion that might suggest an encroachment of the autonomous rule Hong Kong enjoys.
- tsotha 13y agoAnd yet ultimately the decision will be made in Beijing, publicly or no.
- trevelyan 13y agoWhy do you think/say so? China sees its management of Hong Kong as a precursor for handling reunification with Taiwan. That issue (territorial integrity) is hands-down the most sensitive political issue in China which means that the government will think about fifteen times before taking actions which will cause problems with Hong Kong (relations are already at an all-time low). There is simply no way the Chinese government will violate Hong Kong political independence in such a ham-fisted manner given the huge publicity surrounding this case. Which means that assuming the Hong Kong police decide this is an arrestable offense and take Snowden into custody (having just been in Hong Kong literally yesterday, my guess is that no-one knows where he is), the question of what happens to him will play out in the Hong Kong courts and the court of public opinion, and it is very likely that he won't be extradited for years if at all.
- tsotha 13y agoI don't think Hong Kong has any political independence to violate. Decisions are already made in Beijing and then passed to Hong Kong's government to implement. In this particular case the Chinese government has an official mechanism to override extradition decisions, but I don't think there's any reason for them to actually need it.