We don't owe anyone an apology, says US consul over Edward Snowden affair
Hong Kong still waiting for US reply on Snowden hacking allegations, says security chief
Outgoing US consul in Hong Kong Stephen Young said on Thursday the US did not owe any country an apology in relation to the alleged hacking activities disclosed by whistle-blower Edward Snowden.
But Young did say the United States government would address queries made by Hong Kong officials on the issue in its own time and manner.
"But I don’t think we owe an apology to anyone," he said when speaking at the Foreign Correspondents' Club in Central on Thursday afternoon.
The root of the problem here is we have somebody [Snowden] who violated his trust with the US and chose Hong Kong to demonstrate that
“Because I think the real root of the problem here is we have somebody [Snowden] who violated his trust with the United States and chose Hong Kong as a place to demonstrate that.”
He also said that Snowden had made a lot of allegations and many seemed to be self-serving in an attempt to garner sympathy for himself.
Young did say that the Snowden saga had damaged the trust between Hong Kong and the US but he believed it could be restored.
"I wouldn’t be leaving here with the generally optimistic view of Hong Kong if I thought that the damaged trust couldn’t be restored."
