Wake up, rights politicians!

Edward Snowden, a former employee of the CIA, recently exposed a covert federal eavesdropping program codenamed PRISM, which has been intercepting the private telecommunications and online activities of ordinary people around the world since 2007. By gleaning through huge data servers of popular websites, the US National Security Agency (NSA) can look into anyone's private communications at will.

I think Snowden is a straight-up person of conscience. It's a pity what he has shown to the public is nothing new but merely further proof of the well-known fact that the US government has been invading people's privacy and basic rights all along.

Snowden said freedom of speech is well established in Hong Kong, which is one of a few places that dare to defy Washington. I concur with him on this comment. Indeed human rights are so assertive here one can make slanderous statements about the Chief Executive without consequence.

Snowden is very likely doomed for leaking secrets of such caliber to the world. Hong Kong signed an agreement with the US on extradition of criminal suspects. However, if a case concerns China's national security and foreign relations, Beijing has the right to intervene and make the final decision on the suspect's fate.

Many innocent Hong Kong people have been loyal fans of the US' human rights propaganda thanks to shameless hyping by some local politicians over the years. Some of them even demand that American rights be transplanted to Hong Kong as-is and welcome US direct intervention over local rights issues. The latest leaks have put the local rights politicians in a rather awkward position by exposing their idol's true character. I can only assume they have been so devoted to glamorizing the US human rights mumbo-jumbo because 1) they are paid in cash and/or some other benefit to do so; 2) they believe their hyping can win over voters, and 3) they are too naive to know better.

The author is vice-president of the Association of Experts for Modernization Ltd and a practicing lawyer. This is an excerpted translation of his commentary published in Ta Kung Pao on June 13.

(China Daily 06/15/2013 page4)