Snowden Unlikely to Stay in Hong Kong

Experts say Edward Snowden may not be able to hang out in Hong Kong for as long as he’d hoped. Snowden, who leaked top-secret documents about the National Security Agency’s spying program, told the Guardian he had sought refuge there because “they have a spirited commitment to free speech and the right of political dissent.” But the former British colony earned that reputation as a place where Chinese political dissidents—not runaways from other countries—fled from authorities. One former secretary of security in the region who is now a lawmaker said Hong Kong will not be a “safe harbor” for Snowden. If the U.S. asks for him to be extradited, “we would act in accordance with the law,” she told the New York Times. As of midday Monday, Snowden’s whereabouts were unclear.