{"id":13253,"date":"2016-09-10T18:07:55","date_gmt":"2016-09-10T09:53:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chinaworker.info\/?p=13253"},"modified":"2016-09-12T11:15:18","modified_gmt":"2016-09-12T03:15:18","slug":"edward-snowden-thanks-hong-kong-refugees-for-their-courage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/2016\/09\/10\/13253\/","title":{"rendered":"Edward Snowden thanks Hong Kong refugees for their courage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Snowden went underground\u00a0with refugees in Hong Kong\u00a0including Socialist Action member Vanessa<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pasha, Socialist Action (CWI) in Hong Kong<\/p>\n

\"Issue
Issue 39 of Socialist magazine<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Heroic generosity by\u00a0Hong Kong refugees, women and men who are viciously discriminated and smeared as \u2018illegal immigrants\u2019 by the Hong Kong government, has become a global news story. This is because of their role in hiding former national security operative Edward Snowden in the crucial first days after his revelations about the US state\u2019s surveillance dirty tricks exploded on the world like a bomb.<\/p>\n

It was from Hong Kong, when Snowden arrived in May 2013, that he leaked sensational classified documents exposing the staggering scale of US phone tapping and surveillance worldwide. His disclosures showed among other things that US government agencies were\u00a0spying on over 120 world leaders including the leaders of France, Germany, Brazil and Mexico.<\/p>\n

In Hong Kong, Snowden initially sought asylum with the UN, but as for so many others this would turn out to be a false hope under Hong Kong\u2019s restrictive asylum regime. Snowden and his supporters feared attempts by US authorities to capture him in Hong Kong, perhaps illegally rendition him or worse. Another fear was the US government would seek Snowden\u2019s extradition through the courts.<\/p>\n

Wearing a dark hat and glasses, he came to the working class district of Sham Shui Po together with his lawyer, a well-known advocate for refugee rights, to seek shelter among Hong Kong\u2019s 11,000 refugee community.<\/p>\n

Snowden has expressed his gratitude to the refugees who took great personal risks for his sake and shared what little they had with him. In a recent tweet he wrote: \u201cThree years ago these brave families protected me in Hong Kong\u2019s underground. They are still waiting for asylum.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Edward
Edward Snowden on Twitter, 7 September 2016.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Vanessa: \u201cI let him have my bed\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Socialist Action member Vanessa is an asylum seeker from Philippines who is also an active member of the Refugee Union, founded in 2014, which fights to defend refugee rights. She is one of the previously unknown heroes who helped give shelter to Edward Snowden.<\/p>\n

Snowden stayed with Vanessa, who lives with her mother and daughter in a tiny flat, during the first days as his intelligence leaks shook the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh my God, the most wanted man in the world is in my house,\u201d she told the UK Daily Mail about the time she fully understood how important her guest was by seeing his pictures plastered all over the newspapers.<\/p>\n

Vanessa says at first Edward Snowden seemed\u00a0sad and of course worried. \u201cHe had very few clothes, so we helped him.\u201d She even gave up her bed to let him get a good night\u2019s sleep. \u201cWe cooked for him, and went shopping to get him things he needed for his computer,\u201d she says. Laughing, she tells us he liked McDonald\u2019s, especially chicken McNuggets!<\/p>\n

Snowden has spoken of his feelings for the refugees who helped him in his first days as the world\u2019s top fugitive. \u201cIf not for their compassion, my story could have ended differently,\u201d he told the National Post. \u201cThey taught me no matter who you are, no matter what you have, sometimes a little courage can change the course of history.\u201d<\/p>\n

Glenn Greenwald, the American journalist who played a key role in publicising Snowden\u2019s revelations, commented that the never before told story of how the refugees helped Edward Snowden was \u201camazing\u201d.<\/p>\n

As a new movie premieres this month, directed by Oliver Stone and starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the issue of Snowden\u2019s whereabouts\u00a0in Hong Kong has surfaced.<\/p>\n

The Hong Kong government, which maligns refugees as \u201ccriminals\u201d and \u201cillegal immigrants\u201d, did not offer Snowden protection. But some of the poorest and most oppressed people of Hong Kong did not let him down.<\/p>\n

\"Vanessa
Vanessa (right) campaigning for Socialist Action’s candidate Sally Tang Mei-ching in 2015 district council elections<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cDefend Snowden\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

In May 2013 Socialist Action was one of 19 groups to initiate\u00a0a 1000-strong demonstration to \u201cdefend Edward Snowden\u201d \u2013 the first such demo anywhere. Sally Tang Mei-ching of Socialist Action was the first speaker at the demonstration and our leaflet given out in 100s of copies called for the Hong Kong government to grant Snowden asylum in Hong Kong. At the time Snowden warned that the FBI was trying to bully Hong Kong to extradite him. Our leaflet explained how neither the Chinese or US governments could be trusted as both practiced massive illegal surveillance of their own people to defend rich and powerful interest groups.<\/p>\n

FACTS:\u00a0Among the most important revelations from Edward Snowden<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  • Major US telecom and IT companies were providing the National Security Agency (NSA) with all their customers\u2019 phone records.<\/li>\n
  • Spying on other governments is rampant with at least 122 heads of foreign governments targeted by US agencies.<\/li>\n
  • The NSA uses elite hacking teams to hack into any computer around the world.<\/li>\n
  • The NSA intercepts 200 million text messages every day worldwide.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n