Snowden once hid in a refugee housing
in Hong Kong Snowden hid in Hong Kong in 2013 and was interviewed by the media at The Mira Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui. File picture
Edward Snowden's whereabouts remained a mystery for about two weeks during his hiding in Hong Kong in 2013. The New York Times revealed the answer yesterday. It turned out that he was interviewed by the media at The Mira Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui that day. Afterwards, he immediately mixed in with refugees seeking political asylum in Hong Kong and hid in several separate rooms successively.
Before leaving, he left $200 under his pillow
, "Oh, my God! I can't believe the world's most wanted criminal is in my house." Rodell, a female Filipino refugee, recalled that one day, Snowden asked her to buy the South China Morning Post on her behalf. Only by the photos on the front page did I know that the other party was famous. She said Snowden often kept his computer in his hands and was in a constant state of anxiety. Lawyer Wen Haozheng said that he had considered arranging Snowden to temporarily live in the warehouse, but another lawyer, Robert Tibbo, believed that no one would have thought that he would mix with refugees, so he found some familiar refugee helpers.
When Snowden decided to disclose the secrets of the US National Security Agency's surveillance and forced the Hong Kong government to speed up his refugee application, Robert Tibbo arranged for him to be transferred to the subdivision of Sri Lankan refugee Ajith Pushpakumara. Ajit described Snowden as very haggard, but respected them as refugees and left $200 (about HK$1,550) under his pillow for his family before leaving.
On June 23, 2013, Snowden was allowed to leave Hong Kong for Russia.
The New York Times
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