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HONG KONG -- The American defense contractor who says he leaked information on classified U.S. surveillance programs could benefit from a quirk in Hong Kong law that would ensure a lengthy battle to deport him.
Edward
Snowden's whereabouts were not immediately known on Tuesday, although
he was believed to be staying somewhere in the Chinese autonomous region
that has a well-established, Western-style legal system inherited from
its status as a former British colony.
The
journalist
who brought his revelations to the public, Glenn Greenwald of The
Guardian, said he had been in touch with Snowden, but declined to say
whether he was still in Hong Kong and said he didn't know what his
future plans were.
"He hasn't communicated a
plan to me. I don't know if he has a plan," Greenwald told us at the BBC. Greenwald's reports last week, which exposed
widespread U.S. government
programs
to collect
Snowden checked out of Hong Kong's Mira Hotel on Monday and has not been seen in public in the territory.
No charges have been brought and no warrant
has been issued for the arrest of Snowden, a 29-year-old employee of
government contractor Booz Allen Hamilton who has been accused by U.S.
Senate intelligence chairwoman Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California of
committing an "act of treason" that should be prosecuted.
Snowden arrived in Hong Kong on May 20 and as a U.S. citizen is legally permitted to remain for 90 days. He can also apply
for asylum through the United Nations or attempt to fly to another
country which, unlike Hong Kong, does not have an extradition agreement
with the United States.
Even if an extradition
request is brought by the U.S., Snowden could contest it on grounds of
political persecution in a process that could drag on for years.
In
addition, Hong Kong's high court in a ruling on a case concerning three
African asylum-seekers ordered authorities to devise a unified standard
for assessing asylum applications. The ruling effectively puts
applications
on hold until the new system is in place.
Jen
Psaki, a spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department, refused to say
Monday whether the U.S. had made an extradition request or might do so
in the future.
Under the terms of its handover
from British to Chinese rule in 1997, Hong Kong maintained its
independent legal system, a boisterous
media
, and strong civil society that would likely object boisterously to any attempt to railroad Snowden through the legal system.
And though a semi-autonomous part of China, it ultimately answers to Beijing, which is often at odds with Washington.
Greenwald
said he wasn't clear about exactly how Snowden made the decision to
come to Hong Kong, but said simply evading the U.S. authorities wasn't
the only factor he considered.
"It's very
difficult for me to assess that choice because it was a very personal
mix of factors that he took into account when deciding where he wanted
to go, so if his only goal had been how can I best evade arrest, there
probably would have been other better places for him to go," said
Greewald.
Greenwald said The Guardian plans to publish further stories based on information provided by Snowden.
The
U.S. and Hong Kong routinely cooperate on requests to transfer
criminals; in one high-profile case, Hong Kong extradited three al-Qaeda
suspects to the U.S. in 2003.
The U.S. is also one of the largest investors in Hong Kong, a major business center for East Asia, and at least one local politician said she thought it best if Snowden simply left.
"Maybe
he doesn't know we signed so many treaties. The two parties have agreed
to all of them. So he'd better leave Hong Kong," said Regina Ip, a
member of Hong Kong's legislative council and former secretary for
security, was quoted as telling the Takung Pao newspaper.
While
Beijing at times stands up to Washington, it may not want to for
Snowden. Beijing has often criticized foreign governments for harboring
critics of its Communist government. China also is seeking U.S.
cooperation on retrieving corrupt Chinese officials who have fled to
America, often with sizeable assets.
Cyberhacking
and cyberespionage have emerged as the newest friction in relations
that presidents Barack Obama and Xi Jinping pledged over the weekend to
improve.
Still, the extradition agreement
gives Hong Kong ways to say no. The U.S. and Hong Kong concluded the
treaty with Beijing's blessing on the eve of the territory's hand back
from Britain to China in 1997. Provisions allow one side to refuse a
request if it's deemed to be politically motivated or if the suspect is
unlikely to receive a fair trial.
Beijing may
also have a veto. The agreement allows Beijing to refuse to extradite a
Chinese national for reasons of national security. A
study
by the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 1997 suggests Beijing
may have wider discretion to prohibit any extradition, not just of
Chinese nationals, on national security grounds. 
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