Chinese paper praises Snowden, lambasts Washington

The official newspaper of the Chinese state is praising Edward Snowden for "tearing off Washington's sanctimonious mask." The paper suggests that Washington is acting hypocritically after it became known that the United States government had hacked into Chinese networks among others.

HONG KONG, CHINA (Catholic Online) - The People's Daily blasted Washington while praising Edward Snowden. Just weeks ago, Chinese president Xi Jinping enjoyed a successful meeting with President Obama, and where Obama expressed concern over Chinese attempts to hack American computer networks.

Now the truth has been revealed, that the United States may have compromised key Chinese networks. Although that may simply be business as usual, the standard spy vs. spy activities, its publicization has the potential to harm relations between the two countries.

In fact, the White House has said the departure of Snowden from China has harmed the relationship between the two countries. About Snowden's escape, the White House said, it was "a deliberate choice by the government to release a fugitive despite a valid arrest warrant, and that decision unquestionably has a negative impact on the US-China relationship".

Jay Carney explained during a press conference that Obama believes China could have detained and extradited Snowden and should have done so. Carney said, "The Hong Kong authorities were advised of the status of Mr. Snowden's travel documents in plenty of time to have prohibited his travel as appropriate. We do not buy the suggestion that China could not have taken action."

However, the Chinese government claimed that the U.S. request for extradition was inappropriate and accused Washington of trying to muscle its way through the crisis rather than apologizing.

"The world will remember Edward Snowden." the People's Daily wrote, "It was his fearlessness that tore off Washington's sanctimonious mask."

The problem is real. The United States frequently brings the issue of human rights and privacy to the attention of Chinese authorities, often critical of Chinese restrictions on speech and pervasive monitoring practices. All this while secretly monitoring Americans even more comprehensively than Chinese authorities could ever do to their own people.

The paper also expressed that this has impaired the moral authority of the United States to lecture other nations on human rights issues.

However, despite the rhetoric, it is unlikely that either country will do anything of substance to interfere with their very real trade relations. China is hugely dependent on the continued infusion of American cash while the U.S. is dependent on cheap Chinese imports.

Meanwhile, as everybody searches for Edward Snowden, PRISIM continues to monitor everything.

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