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Snowden 'an indoor cat' in Moscow, says he's 'won'

2013-12-30 16:17 China Daily Web Editor: Yao Lan
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Snowden 'an indoor cat' in Moscow, says he's 'won'

Keeping a mostly low-profile as a US fugitive in Moscow, former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden has suddenly resurfaced in the media, saying he is confident his personal "mission is already accomplished" and he has "already won" after leaking NSA secrets. The challenge now, he believes, is to stress the importance of privacy and urge an end to mass government surveillance.

Snowden gave a more than 14-hour interview to The Washington Post, which says it's the first he has conducted in person since arriving in the Russian capital in June. He follows that up by speaking directly to the British public in a televised message that will be broadcast Wednesday as an alternative to the queen's annual Christmas speech.

Snowden told the Post he was satisfied because journalists have been able to tell the story of the US government's collection of bulk Internet and phone records, an activity that has grown dramatically in the decade since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

"For me, in terms of personal satisfaction, the mission's already accomplished," he said in the interview, which was published online Monday night. "I already won."

"As soon as the journalists were able to work, everything that I had been trying to do was validated," Snowden told the Post. "Because, remember, I didn't want to change society. I wanted to give society a chance to determine if it should change itself."

Snowden also gave insight into his life in Russia, suggesting that he's not getting out much by being "an indoor cat."

Now, Snowden will set out why he believes mass surveillance by governments is wrong and note the importance of the debate his disclosures have ignited.

"The conversation occurring today will determine the amount of trust we can place both in the technology that surrounds us and the government that regulates it," he says, according to excerpts from the message released by Channel 4. "Together we can find a better balance, end mass surveillance and remind the government that if it really wants to know how we feel asking is always cheaper than spying."

The queen delivers Britain's "Royal Christmas Message," but Channel 4 has used its annual alternative version to give a platform to people as diverse as Iran's then-President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad in 2008, and fictional characters including Ali G. and Marge Simpson in 1999 and 2004, respectively.

In his UK message, Snowden calls modern surveillance more invasive than any envisioned by "1984" author George Orwell, saying that children today will grow up without knowing what it means to have an unrecorded or private moment.

"That's a problem because privacy matters, privacy is what allows us to determine who we are and who we want to be," he says.

Snowden was interviewed by the Post in Moscow over two days by reporter Barton Gellman, who has received numerous leaks from Snowden. The interview was conducted six months after Snowden's revelations first appeared in the Post and the Guardian newspaper.

Gellman described Snowden as relaxed and animated over two days of nearly unbroken conversation.

In June, the Justice Department unsealed a criminal complaint charging Snowden, a former NSA contractor, with espionage and felony theft of government property. Russia granted him temporary asylum five months ago.

The effects of Snowden's revelations have been evident in the courts, Congress, Silicon Valley and capitals around the world, where even US allies have reacted angrily to reports of US monitoring of their leaders' cellphone calls. Brazil and members of the European Union are considering ways to better protect their data and US technology companies such as Google, Microsoft and Yahoo are looking at ways to block the collection of data by the government.

Snowden, now 30, said he is not being disloyal to the US or to his former employer.

"I am not trying to bring down the NSA, I am working to improve the NSA," he said. "I am still working for the NSA right now. They are the only ones who don't realize it."

 

斯诺登在莫斯科做宅男 自称已经取得胜利

一向行事低调的美国逃犯、美国国家安全局承包商前雇员爱德华•斯诺登突然又出现在了媒体面前。泄漏美国国家安全局的机密之后,斯诺登相信自己的“使命已经完成、已经赢了。”他相信,目前的挑战是,增强公众的个人隐私意识,大家携手终结政府监控。

斯诺登接受了《华盛顿邮报》长达14小时的采访,这是他自6月份抵达俄罗斯首都以来,第一次个人专访。之后,斯诺登又录制了一期英国电视台节目,他将会在25号英国女王伊丽莎白二世的年度圣诞致辞播出的时段发表“另类的圣诞致辞。”

斯诺登告诉《华盛顿邮报》说,自己很满意。因为,媒体能够把美国政府搜集大部分公民的上网记录和电话记录这件事情报道出来了。自从2001年9月11号的恐怖袭击发生后,美国政府对公民的监控就越来越严格。

23号网上发布的一期采访中,他说:“就个人满足感而言,我已经完成了使命,我赢了。”

斯诺登告诉《华盛顿邮报》:“在记者们可以开始他们的工作那一刻,我一直以来的努力都没有白费。因为,记住,我不想改变社会。我想给社会一个机会去判定,是否应该改变自身。斯诺登透露他在俄罗斯的生活时,自称“家猫”,不常出门。

现在,斯诺登将阐述为什么他相信政府对公民的监控是错误的、为什么泄密引发的探讨有重大意义。

摘录自英国第四频道电视台的讯息中,他说:“今天的谈话将决定我们对周围科技手段、以及管理科技手段的政府的信任程度。大家团结起来力量大,才能与政府力量抗衡。大家一起努力去结束政府监控,提醒政府:如果真的想了解公众想法的话,询问民意要比监控实惠得多。”

传统的圣诞致辞是英国女王发表的年度“皇家圣诞致辞”。但是,英国第四频道在这一时段播出了“另类圣诞致辞”。它给人们提供了一个平台去体验不同版本的圣诞致辞。节目中分别发表圣诞致辞的有2008年伊朗总统马哈茂德•艾哈迈迪-内贾德、小说虚构人物Ali G和1990年和2004年动画片《辛普森一家》中的玛琦•辛普森 (Marge Simpson )。

英国第四频道电视台的讯息中,斯诺登称现代的监控范围远比乔治•奥威尔(George Orwell)在经典反乌托邦作品《1984》中预想的更为广泛。今天的孩子们长大后,将不知道隐私为何物。

他说:“那是一个问题。因为隐私很重要,隐私决定我们是谁、我们想成为什么样的人。”

斯诺登接受了《华盛顿邮报》记者巴顿•格尔曼 (Barton Gellman)为期两天的采访,采访期间,斯诺登披露了大量机密信息。2013年6月,斯诺登第一次出现在媒体,为《卫报》和《华盛顿邮报》披露机密信息。

格尔曼说,斯诺登在为期两天的采访中心情放松、充满活力,谈话基本上没有终止过。

6月份,美国司法部接手了一起刑事诉讼,该诉讼指控美国国家安全局承包商前雇员斯诺登从事间谍活动、盗窃政府财产。五个月前,俄罗斯为斯诺登提供临时政治庇护。

斯诺登泄密对美国法院、国会、硅谷和世界各个国家政府的影响都很大。即便是美国的同盟国,也对美国监控该国领导人电话记录的行为表示愤慨。巴西和欧盟成员国正在考虑能够更好地保护国家数据不受美国监控的方案。像谷歌、微软和雅虎这些美国的科技公司也在寻找方案来阻止美国政府收集公司内部数据。

30岁的斯诺登说,他没有背叛美国,没有背叛前雇主。

他说:“我没有试图去推翻美国国家安全局(NSA),我致力于改善它。我仍然在为美国国家安全局效力,他们是唯一没有意识到这些的人。”

 

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