Should Edward Snowden be prosecuted?

[Trien Chieu]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Snowden
Given what he had done, I think he should be prosecuted for the serious crime he committed. The punishment must fit the crime. He deserves life in prison or death penalty.

[Ken Cheng]

In his essay "Civil Disobedience," Henry David Thoreau observed that to do the right thing, it's sometimes necessary to break the law. Even so, breaking the law is breaking the law, and the person who chooses to do so must be prepared to face the consequences.

Therefore, yes, Edward Snowden must be prosecuted because he indeed broke the law.

At the same time, however, his illegal action *might* have been necessary to expose illegal government actions.

It's like Socrates: the Athenian authorities forbid him from teaching his ideas to his students, but he chose to do so anyway because he believed it was the right thing to do. Socrates willingly accepted the authorities' punishment of death by drinking poison hemlock juice; he was willing to give up his life to make a point.

Snowden is no Socrates because he ran from the law instead of facing up to it, but perhaps he believes his work is not yet done and he must finish it before he submits to punishment. I doubt, however, that Snowden will turn himself in.

Recommendation: prosecute Snowden if he comes within U.S. jurisdiction, but at the same time, investigate his claims to see if they have any merit and hold the government officials who did these things accountable.

[wkeej]

Law-wise, as what Ken has explained, yes. With regard to punishment, I think life imprisonment or death penalty is too heavy. A fine will be too light.

[LuNaR]

even if snowden is right, if he is not prosecuted, it can set a precedent for future gov agents to reveal "classified" info of the US gov, so yes he should be prosecuted. but like what wkeej said, life imprisonment or death penalty is too heavy. i hope he get a big fine and that's it because i dont believe what he did was wrong.

[Dirt]

Hong Kong has signed extradition treaties with the USA separate from the Mainland. And Hong Kong still refused to turn Snowden over to the USA. "One country, two systems" has proven itself to be the sham that it is. The ROC is wise to never, ever allow the PRC to impose "one country, two systems" on itself; the Chinese should never, ever give up their Democracy.

[wkeej]

Btw, where is he now?

[Ken Cheng]

Hong Kong has signed extradition treaties with the USA separate from the Mainland. And Hong Kong still refused to turn Snowden over to the USA. "One country, two systems" has proven itself to be the sham that it is. The ROC is wise to never, ever allow the PRC to impose "one country, two systems" on itself; the Chinese should never, ever give up their Democracy.

I read it completely differently: as I saw it, Hong Kong refused to hand Snowden over to the U.S. not because of pressure from Beijing, but because Hong Kong's government and citizens (independently of what Beijing might have wanted) did not like what they perceived as the U.S. government's infringement of freedom of information...just as Hong Kong would oppose Beijing doing the same.

The Hong Kong activists I saw supporting Snowden were the same people we usually see protesting against Beijing's policies.

[Dirt]

I read it completely differently: as I saw it, Hong Kong refused to hand Snowden over to the U.S. not because of pressure from Beijing, but because Hong Kong's government and citizens (independently of what Beijing might have wanted) did not like what they perceived as the U.S. government's infringement of freedom of information...just as Hong Kong would oppose Beijing doing the same.

The Hong Kong activists I saw supporting Snowden were the same people we usually see protesting against Beijing's policies.

Since when has Hong Kong's Communist Masters ever cared about what the populace thinks? If it did, Hong Kong would have free elections by now, but they don't, because the Commies forbid it.

http://news.yahoo.com/hk-protests-be...122508095.html

Here are some new protests for Hong Kong's Chief Executive to resign and for democratic reforms to take place. If Beijing responds and sacks the Chief Executive and allows democratic reforms to occur within the next 2 years, I'll quit Spcnet forever.

[Ken Cheng]

Since when has Hong Kong's Communist Masters ever cared about what the populace thinks? If it did, Hong Kong would have free elections by now, but they don't, because the Commies forbid it.

http://news.yahoo.com/hk-protests-be...122508095.html

Here are some new protests for Hong Kong's Chief Executive to resign and for democratic reforms to take place. If Beijing responds and sacks the Chief Executive and allows democratic reforms to occur within the next 2 years, I'll quit Spcnet forever.

It just so happened that in this case, what Beijing wanted and what Hong Kong wanted was the same, though for different reasons. Beijing wanted to stick it to the Americans, as usual. Hong Kong, not so much, but they'd be damned if they let the U.S. dictate terms to them and moreover, what the Americans were doing to Snowden was, in the view of many Hong Kongers, *precisely* the kind of thing they hated Beijing doing to their people. Hong Kong's refusal to hand over Snowden to the U.S. was amenable to Beijing, but Hong Kong wouldn't have wanted to hand over Snowden anyway.

[Dimeron]

It just so happened that in this case, what Beijing wanted and what Hong Kong wanted was the same, though for different reasons. Beijing wanted to stick it to the Americans, as usual. Hong Kong, not so much, but they'd be damned if they let the U.S. dictate terms to them and moreover, what the Americans were doing to Snowden was, in the view of many Hong Kongers, *precisely* the kind of thing they hated Beijing doing to their people. Hong Kong's refusal to hand over Snowden to the U.S. was amenable to Beijing, but Hong Kong wouldn't have wanted to hand over Snowden anyway.

If Beijing wanted to stick to the Americans they would have granted Snowden Asylum paraded him all over HK. You are thinking Putin.

Despite what the media wants to portrayal Beijing rarely plays tit for tat when it comes to this kind of stuff. Most likely Beijing simply don't want to deal with this guy (and most of the HK politicians probably don't want to either), so they probably encouraged him to leave when the chance came. Protecting him or handing him over would have caused a lot of trouble.