NSA leaker: U.S. has been hacking HK and China for years
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Edward Snowden: US government has been hacking Hong Kong and China for years
Former CIA operative makes more explosive claims and says Washington is ‘bullying’ Hong Kong to extradite him
US whistle-blower Edward Snowden yesterday emerged from hiding in Hong Kong and revealed to the South China Morning Post that he will stay in the city to fight likely attempts by his government to have him extradited for leaking state secrets.
In an exclusive interview carried out from a secret location in the city, the former Central Intelligence Agency analyst also made explosive claims that the US government had been hacking into computers in Hong Kong and on the mainland for years.
At Snowden’s request we cannot divulge details about how the interview was conducted.
A week since revelations that the US has been secretly collecting phone and online data of its citizens, he said he will stay in the city “until I am asked to leave”, adding: “I have had many opportunities to flee HK, but I would rather stay and fight the US government in the courts, because I have faith in HK’s rule of law.”
In a frank hour-long interview, the 29-year-old, who US authorities have confirmed is now the subject of a criminal case, said he was neither a hero nor a traitor and that:
- US National Security Agency’s controversial Prism programme extends to people and institutions in Hong Kong and mainland China;
- The US is exerting “bullying’’ diplomatic pressure on Hong Kong to extradite him;
- Hong Kong’s rule of law will protect him from the US;
- He is in constant fear for his own safety and that of his family.
Snowden has been in Hong Kong since May 20 when he fled his home in Hawaii to take refuge here, a move which has been questioned by many who believe the city cannot protect him.
“People who think I made a mistake in picking HK as a location misunderstand my intentions. I am not here to hide from justice, I am here to reveal criminality,” he said.
Snowden said that according to unverified documents seen by the Post, the NSA had been hacking computers in Hong Kong and on the mainland since 2009. None of the documents revealed any information about Chinese military systems, he said.
I’m neither traitor nor hero. I’m an AmericanOne of the targets in the SAR, according to Snowden, was Chinese University and public officials, businesses and students in the city. The documents also point to hacking activity by the NSA against mainland targets.
Snowden believed there had been more than 61,000 NSA hacking operations globally, with hundreds of targets in Hong Kong and on the mainland.
“We hack network backbones – like huge internet routers, basically – that give us access to the communications of hundreds of thousands of computers without having to hack every single one,” he said.
“Last week the American government happily operated in the shadows with no respect for the consent of the governed, but no longer. Every level of society is demanding accountability and oversight.”
Snowden said he was releasing the information to demonstrate “the hypocrisy of the US government when it claims that it does not target civilian infrastructure, unlike its adversaries”.
“Not only does it do so, but it is so afraid of this being known that it is willing to use any means, such as diplomatic intimidation, to prevent this information from becoming public.”
Since the shocking revelations a week ago, Snowden has been vilified as a defector but also hailed by supporters such as WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange.
“I’m neither traitor nor hero. I’m an American,” he said, adding that he was proud to be an American. “I believe in freedom of expression. I acted in good faith but it is only right that the public form its own opinion.”
Snowden said he had not contacted his family and feared for their safety as well as his own.
“I will never feel safe.
“Things are very difficult for me in all terms, but speaking truth to power is never without risk,” he said. “It has been difficult, but I have been glad to see the global public speak out against these sorts of systemic violations of privacy.
“All I can do is rely on my training and hope that world governments will refuse to be bullied by the United States into persecuting people seeking political refuge.”
Asked if he had been offered asylum by the Russian government, he said: “My only comment is that I am glad there are governments that refuse to be intimidated by great power”.
The interview comes on the same day NSA chief General Keith Alexander appeared before Congress to defend his agency over the leaks. It was his first appearance since the explosive revelations were made last week. Alexander’s prepared remarks did not specifically address revelations about the Prism program.
Snowden's revelations threaten to test new attempts to build US-Sino bridges after a weekend summit in California between the nations' presidents, Barack Obama and Xi Jinping.
If true, Snowden's allegations lend credence to China's longstanding position that it is as much a victim of hacking as a perpetrator, after Obama pressed Xi to rein in cyber-espionage by the Chinese military.
Tens of thousands of Snowden’s supporters have signed a petition calling for his pardon in the United States while many have donated money to a fund to help him.
“I’m very grateful for the support of the public,” he said. “But I ask that they act in their interest – save their money for letters to the government that breaks the law and claims it noble.
“The reality is that I have acted at great personal risk to help the public of the world, regardless of whether that public is American, European, or Asian.”
The US consulate in Hong Kong could not be contacted yesterday on a public holiday.
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Inside the NSA's Ultra-Secret China Hacking Group
Deep within the National Security Agency, an elite, rarely discussed team of hackers and spies is targeting America's enemies abroad.
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/06/10/inside_the_nsa_s_ultra
The U.S. shamelessly conduct illegal hacking operations into China and HK public and private organisations and still got face to accuse China of hacking.
Shameless to the core, this U.S.
U.S. talks about other countries conducting illegal hacks.
Actually the no.1 country in this world conducting illegal hacks is the U.S.
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Honesty is basis for China-US dialogue2013-7-11 0:13:01
By Global TimesThe fifth round of the China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue kicked off on Wednesday in Washington. The two-day dialogue is being carried out at a critical moment of constructing a new type of China-US relationship after leadership changes in both countries, as well as after the NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden's leak of US surveillance secrets.
The US media has highlighted Snowden's shadow cast on the dialogue, but it's different on the Chinese side. Some American politicians' understanding of "strategic dialogue" is more narrow-minded than that of their Chinese counterparts. Meanwhile, this also reflects the US diffidence at present. For years Washington has been pointing its finger at China over cyber security issues, but its own surveillance scandal was exposed by Snowden.
Despite ups and downs the bilateral relationship maintains a positive trend in general. It's understandable that China and the US lack mutual strategic trust, but they should restrain their suspicions of each other. This requires the two to be frank in the strategic dialogue rather than taking the dialogue as a means to pursue unreasonable interests for their own sake.
The biggest obstacle between China and the US is the hypocrisy and jiggery-pokery Washington hides under superficial candidness. The US has many channels to express demands. Its senators, labor unions and media, to name only a few, can all interfere in the relations with China.
Washington is also good at manipulating public opinion. It has shaped itself as a victim of cyber espionage in the past years. However, it has been proved now that the US is behind the world's most serious spying activities.
Washington is accustomed to being hollow and assertive, which China has to curb. The Snowden affair offered a chance, but Beijing hasn't made a big deal out of it. China acted rather restrainedly when handling the Snowden case, and there's no need for China to hype the case in the strategic and economic dialogue. However, it should be a tool of the Chinese delegation to psychologically deter the US delegation. The US should stop making the case for accusing China of cyber espionage and showing off their moral high ground of human rights protection.
With a capital advantage, expanding market and technological progress, China is moving closer to an equal position with the US. It's time for the US to reflect on its attitude on China.
Washington shouldn't dictate the China-US relationship. It holds double standards on many issues, which triggered much opposition from the Chinese public. Our anger should be made known to the US and our opinions should be heard.
The China-US Strategic and Economic dialogue is an opportunity for both countries to explore the degree of tolerance each can have of the other. Worrying the bilateral relationship will be jeopardized is not necessary. The China-US strategic relationship is not so fragile. -
WOnder if this forums has been bugged? Well, actually if yout hink about it so long as you are carrying a smartphone you are literlly opened to being bugged and hacked.
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I use my Ipad to wrack Obama,then he knows.
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THE SNOWDEN AFFAIR: Putin Stands Up To American Hegemony And Western Domination
By Dr. Sawraj Singh
Russia ignored tremendous American pressure and granted asylum to Edward Snowden. Snowden worked for the CIA and leaked information that America not only spied on its adversaries, but shockingly did not spare its friends either such as many European countries, and kept an eye on the activities of their citizens as well as its own. This led to immense humiliation and frustration for America because it had to face the wrath of the Europeans. One example of this wrath is the cancelling of a treaty which Germany had with America and the UK for sharing secret information. This was made during the Cold War.
America wants to capture Snowden and punish him for leaking the damaging information. For this purpose, America put a lot of pressure on other governments to not grant asylum to Snowden and not allow him to fly over their airspace. Snowden was temporarily in Hong Kong. He applied for asylum in different countries. Some countries like Bolivia and Venezuela agreed to grant him asylum. Snowden went from Hong Kong to Moscow so that he could go to South America. However, America pressured the European countries to not let Snowden fly over their air space. These countries completely disregarded international law and tried to stop Snowden from reaching South America. The plane carrying Bolivia’s President was stopped and searched while flying over a European country’s airspace when information was received that Snowden was on the plane. This action is a gross violation of international law because a plane in which a Head of Sate is travelling can neither be stopped nor searched.
America made it absolutely clear that it will completely disregard international law and will not let Snowden travel from Moscow to South America. America also applied tremendous pressure on Russia as to prevent it from granting asylum to Snowden. It said that Obama may not attend the G-20 Summit which is going to be held in Russia, or if he does attend, then he may cancel his meeting with Putin. Without Obama’s participation, the G-20 Summit would become irrelevant, and if Obama cancelled his meeting with Putin, then it could hurt Russia’s prestige. [The braking news is that Obama has cancelled his meeting with Putin] America felt that Russia would cave in and refuse asylum to Snowden. However, Putin resisted all of this pressure and decided to give asylum to Snowden. I feel that America has more to lose by further straining relations with Russia because when Russia and China got together, balance of power has already shifted to their side.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, America became the only superpower of the world. It also became the self-appointed Policeman of the world. This is first time, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, that any country has dared to defy the American pressure. Whereas this step shows Putin’s bravery and firmness, it also shows that America’s status as the only superpower of the world and its self-appointed status as the Policeman of the world have ended. The western-domination in the present world is dependent upon American hegemony because America is the undeclared leader of the current globalization, which is the highest stage of western capitalism. Putin is the only world leader who has dared to stand up to American hegemony and western domination.[ The other leaders who did this lacked the power of Russia] By doing this, Putin has reserved a place in history as a “Yug Paltauu” leader (Punjabi term translated as Era Changer).
The Indian leaders should learn a lesson from Putin’s firm stand. America feels that it has the right to interfere in India’s internal affairs and influence India’s policies. America has also subjected Indian leaders to great humiliation when they go to America. However, instead of exposing such arrogant and racist American attitudes, the Indian leaders have mostly tried to minimize it and cover it up. Even Indian intellectuals and writers, including so-called progressive and left-leaning ones, have followed this approach. They all try to justify the arrogant American behavior.
If someone tries to independently analyze American policies, then it will become clear that these policies are based upon hegemony, hypocrisy, and double standards.
On one hand, America pressurizes other countries to deny asylum to people like Snowden and not even let them pass through their air space. On the other hand, America encourages dissidents in other countries not only to oppose their governments, but also forces their governments to allow them to travel to America or other western countries. Some of the dissidents in the Tiananmen Square were carrying American flags. Similarly, some of the Pakistanis who came to welcome Benazir Bhutto were also carrying American flags.
It is obvious that after the collapse of the Soviet Union, America and the western countries have followed arrogant and hegemonic policies which completely negate international norms and principles of diplomacy and “civilized behavior.”
It appears that Putin has drawn a line in the sand and has sent a strong message that America and the western countries should reconsider these hegemonic, hypocritical, and arrogant policies which are based upon double standards.
Not only will this be good for the world, but also for America and the western countries because the transition from a western-dominated world to a multipolar world can become smooth and peaceful.
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