Mr Snowden , 29 , made his identity public on Sunday , after leaking details of the NSA ’ s vast electronic surveillance programme to The Guardian and The Washington Post . He said he had chosen to flee the US for Hong Kong due to its “ commitment to free speech and the right of political dissent ”.
Speculation was rife about which of a string of luxury hotels near the city ’ s US consulate on Hong Kong Island Mr Snowden might be holed up in , after he mentioned that a CIA station was “ just up the road ”.
Mr Snowden is reported to have left his “ plush hotel ” just three times in his three-week stay . He said he feared for his safety , worried that he could be rendered by the CIA or dealt with by the Chinese triads .
Last night it became clear Mr Snowden had spent at least some of his time on Hong Kong ’ s mainland . The Independent spoke to duty manager Kevin Ko at the Mira Hotel , in the centre of Hong Kong ’ s Tsim Sha Tsui shopping district , who confirmed that a guest by the name of Edward Snowden had checked in at 6am on Monday but left shortly afterwards . Mr Ko was unaware of the notoriety of the Mira ’ s guest and was bemused by the attention the hotel was receiving . “ We thought he was an ordinary guest ,” Mr Ko said .
In sharp contrast to the media scrum forming around Hong Kong ’ s top hotels , most people on the street were completely unaware of the former CIA technical agent , or the global interest that was forming around Hong Kong as a result . “ You think an American spy has been staying there ?” said a property consultant Lucifer Chung , who works in a building opposite the Mira . “ No way . Everyone would know !”
Julian Assange told Sky News that Snowden is a " hero ". The WikiLeaks founder said the NSA whistle-blower was “ in a very , very serious position , because we can see the kind of rhetoric that occurred against me and Bradley Manning back in 2010 , 2011 , applied to Snowden ”.
In the US , politicians ’ condemnation of Mr Snowden was tempered by public support for his actions . Peter King , the Republican chairman of the Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence , demanded Mr Snowden ’ s extradition , saying in a statement : “ The United States government must prosecute him to the fullest extent of the law .”
Shawn Turner , a spokesman for the Director of National Intelligence , James Clapper , said Mr Snowden ’ s case had been referred to the US Justice Department for investigation . Mr Snowden ’ s last employer , the defence contractor Booz Allen Hamilton , released a statement promising to cooperate with any investigation .
Rand Paul , a Republican senator , by contrast claimed he was considering suing the federal government for the intrusive surveillance programmes detailed in Mr Snowden ’ s leaks . At a White House press briefing , President Obama ’ s spokesman Jay Carney defended the administration ’ s record on transparency , calling its policies “ broad and significant ”, and saying Mr Obama “ welcomes a debate ” about the balance between privacy and security .
But Mr Carney would not be drawn on the specifics of Mr Snowden ’ s case , despite a petition on the White House website calling for him to be pardoned , which had attracted some 16,000 signatures by lunchtime on Monday .
Trevor Timm , executive director of the Freedom of the Press Foundation , told The Independent : “ There is a huge groundswell of support for Edward and what he did . People feel like they were kept in the dark about this massive surveillance programme , and he says he acted not for monetary gain , but to protect Americans ’ rights .”
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