#Snowden's High Stakes Gamble

It's going to be an interesting news day.

This Snowden cat is almost too perfect the anti-government foil. But we'll see.

At the Guardian UK, "Edward Snowden's choice of Hong Kong as haven is a high-stakes gamble."

Edward Snowden's choice of Hong Kong as a haven from where to leak intelligence documents and to unmask himself as a whistleblower rests on calculations on the territory's press freedom safeguards and its extradition treaty with the US. It is a high-stakes gamble.

Just before sovereignty over Hong Kong passed from Britain to China in 1997, the US signed a new extradition treaty with the semi-autonomous territory. Under that treaty, both parties agree to hand over fugitives from each other's criminal justice systems, but either side has the right of refusal in the case of political offences.

Beijing, which gave its consent for Hong Kong to sign the agreement, also has a right of veto if it believes the surrender of a fugitive would harm the "defence, foreign affairs or essential public interest or policy'' of the People's Republic of China. In short, the treaty makes Snowden's fate a matter of political expediency not just in Hong Kong but in Beijing.

Yeah, and the dude's in high demand stateside. See, "Edward Snowden: Republicans call for NSA whistleblower to be extradited."

Check all the links at Memeorandum as well.

More here throughout the day.