He did work in the intelligence community so maybe he has a better idea than us. My guess is that asylum in Iceland is ideal if everything worked out, but he doesn't think it is strong enough to resist U.S. pressure.
Hong Kong is stable and modern, so he is less likely to be killed or kidnapped by local criminals on CIA payroll, and at the same time the Chinese government is less likely to cooperate with the U.S. than most other stable governments around the world. It's definitely a risky choice, but it's not like there is really any safe ones. I think the gamble boils down to whether China sees more value in trading him off for some other diplomatic concession or keep him safe as a constant reminder of U.S. hypocrisy. On 9 June 2013 17:17, Matt Johnson <railm...@gmail.com> wrote: > Snowden says he wants asylum in Iceland. Why not go there directly? > > Going to Hong Kong makes him vulnerable to accusations of working for the > PRC. > > None of that makes sense to me, but what do I know. I will watch, and > learn. > > -- > Matt > > On Sun, Jun 9, 2013 at 3:52 PM, Raven Jiang CX <j...@stanford.edu> wrote: > > There is a strong resistance against Chinese strong-arming in Hong Kong, > > plus I am not sure that it is actually in the interest of the Chinese > > government to help the US do anything about this. I think you can make a > > case for why it's a better choice, though it is definitely debatable. > > > > > > On 9 June 2013 15:10, Sheila Parks <sheilaruthpa...@comcast.net> wrote: > >> > >> I agree with what you say about Hong Kong > >> > >> He does say he would like to end up in Iceland > >> > >> Wonder why he did not go there in the first place > >> > >> Such an immensely brave and honest person > >> > >> Sheila > >> > >> > >> At 06:04 PM 6/9/2013, you wrote: > >>> > >>> On 06/09/2013 04:43 PM, Matt Johnson wrote: > >>> > I have to say going to Hong Kong for free speech and safety seems > like > >>> > a very odd choice to me. What was he thinking? > >>> > >>> Actually, and I think this is pointed out in either the video or an > >>> article somewhere, Hong Kong doesn't generally suffer the speech > >>> restrictions mainland China does. Sure, they aren't completely free but > >>> protests and unpopular political speech happen quite frequently and are > >>> generally well tolerated by the government. > >>> > >>> Still, I have to wonder why he didn't go somewhere like Iceland. To me, > >>> that would have been a no-brainer. > >>> > >>> Anthony > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> -- > >>> Anthony Papillion > >>> Phone: 1.918.533.9699 > >>> SIP: sip:cajuntec...@iptel.org > >>> iNum: +883510008360912 > >>> XMPP: cypherpun...@jit.si > >>> > >>> www.cajuntechie.org > >>> -- > >>> Too many emails? Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password by > >>> emailing moderator at compa...@stanford.edu or changing your settings > at > >>> https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech > >> > >> > >> Sheila Parks, Ed.D. > >> Founder > >> Center for Hand-Counted Paper Ballots > >> Watertown, MA 02472 > >> 617 744 6020 > >> DEMOCRACY IN OUR HANDS > >> www.handcountedpaperballots.org > >> she...@handcountedpaperballots.org > >> > >> -- > >> Too many emails? Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password by > >> emailing moderator at compa...@stanford.edu or changing your settings > at > >> https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech > > > > > > > > -- > > Too many emails? Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password by > > emailing moderator at compa...@stanford.edu or changing your settings at > > https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech > -- > Too many emails? Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password by > emailing moderator at compa...@stanford.edu or changing your settings at > https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech >
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