The South China Morning Post reports: Edward Snowden says he wants to ask the people of Hong Kong to decide his fate after choosing the city because of his faith in its rule of law.
The 29-year-old former CIA employee behind what might be the biggest intelligence leak in US history revealed his identity to the world in Hong Kong on Sunday. His decision to use a city under Chinese sovereignty as his haven has been widely questioned – including by some rights activists in Hong Kong.
Snowden said last night that he had no doubts about his choice of Hong Kong.
“People who think I made a mistake in picking Hong Kong as a location misunderstand my intentions. I am not here to hide from justice; I am here to reveal criminality,” Snowden said in an exclusive interview with the South China Morning Post.
“I have had many opportunities to flee HK, but I would rather stay and fight the United States government in the courts, because I have faith in Hong Kong’s rule of law,” he added.
He knows he’s not gonna elude capture forever. The world is too filthy with CIA operatives in every state on the planet, which also has its fair share of approx. 1000 offshore US military bases.
He knows that the rule of law in HK can tie up his extradition for several months, if not several years — long enough to be able — unlike Bradley Manning — to tell his story about every forthcoming disclosure Greenwald and the Washington Post may be preparing.
Of course, this is precisely what’s eating at all those Americans who’ve been sipping the NSA Kool Aid and resenting the fact that they’ve been denied the pleasure of witnessing Snowden’s imminent perp walk on their teevees.
He’s also smart to be rejecting his identification as either a traitor or a hero but rather, wrapping himself in the flag — which just keeps his critics frothing at the mouth. These guys supposedly worship their constitution, and he gives them no alternative but to eat their hearts out every time he alludes to that sacred document.
This is not a dumb kid. He’s put some thought into a right way to proceed.