- Title: CHINA: Tsinghua students shocked at new Snowden revelations
- Date: 23rd June 2013
- Summary: BEIJING, CHINA (JUNE 23, 2013) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF TSINGHUA UNIVERSITY TOURISTS QUEUING TO GET INTO CAMPUS EXTERIOR OF TSINGHUA UNIVERSITY PEOPLE POSING IN FRONT OF FORMER QING DYNASTY ROYAL PARK: "TSINGHUA YUAN" SIGN READING: "TSINGHUA YUAN" TOURISTS TAKING PHOTOS (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) FIRST-YEAR GRADUATE STUDENT MS. RUI SAYING: "I was shocked when I first heard it. I
- Embargoed: 8th July 2013 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: China
- Country: China
- Topics: Crime,International Relations,Education,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVAGEKDBI5EG0N5LUFAL9DY165Z
- Story Text: Some Tsinghua University are shocked at new revelations former U.S. NSA contractor Edward Snowden told a Hong Kong newspaper about U.S. hacking of Chinese mobile phone companies and targeting their University.
Students at China's top Tsinghua University on Sunday (June 23) reacted to new revelations made by former U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden that their school had been one of U.S. hacking targets.
The South China Morning Post (SCMP) on Saturday (June 22) quoted Snowden offering new details about America's spy activities, including accusations of U.S. hacking of Chinese mobile phone companies and targeting China's top Tsinghua University.
One Chinese student was shocked at the news.
"I was shocked when I first heard it. I have never felt so insecure before. They provide us with advanced technologies, but that comes along with great hidden security risks. I think it is pretty scary. Moral values are more important than technologies," said first-year graduate student Ms. Rui.
"They shouldn't have been hacking attacks against each other, it is not part of the original design of the internet. There should be a fair and free competition, not hacking attacks. Hacking is no different from stealing or pirating," Wang Huan, a third-year graduate student said.
The United States said on Saturday it wants Hong Kong to extradite Edward Snowden and urged it to act quickly, paving the way for what could be a lengthy legal battle to prosecute Snowden on espionage charges.
The United States charged Snowden with theft of government property, unauthorized communication of national defense information and willful communication of classified communications intelligence to an unauthorized person, according to the June 14 criminal complaint made public on Friday.
The latter two offenses fall under the U.S. Espionage Act and carry penalties of up to 10 years in prison.
The United States and Hong Kong signed an extradition treaty in 1998, under which scores of Americans have been sent back home to face trial. But the process can take years, lawyers say, and Snowden's case could be particularly complex.
David Zweig, professor of social science of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, said he expects China to leave the Snowden case in the hands of Hong Kong courts.
"For a long time China could keep its nose out of this and wanted to keep its nose out of this saying that this was an American affair. An internal affair of America. And now it's a China affair and they will be under some pressure to respond. But overall I think they would still prefer to let this go through the courts of Hong Kong. That's the way they've positioned this thing all along and I think they will maintain this position," said Zweig.
However, Zweig added that the latest revelation could give China more bargaining chips when negotiating market access to its telecom industry with the United States.
"Well the United States has been complaining, bitterly, that U.S. companies cannot get into the telecommunications industry in China. And now China can say: 'look, we let you into our telecommunications industry and look what we get. You're going to be putting in microchips that are going to be hacking our people. You're going to be listening to our conversations. So why should we let you in?" he said.
The SCMP also reported that Snowden was not detained or in police protection - as reported elsewhere - and instead he was in a "safe place" somewhere in Hong Kong.
Should he return to the United States, Snowden would face trial in a federal court in Virginia that has a long track record of hearing cases related to national security and also to cyber crime. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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