Rep. Peter King (R-NY) said Monday that Hong Kong’s refusal to extradite Edward Snowden, the former defense contractor accused of espionage, was a “political decision” with ties to Beijing, according to the Associated Press.
“This was strictly a political decision,” King told CNN in an interview, as quoted by the AP, “and I cannot believe that Hong Kong would have made it without China encouraging it or acquiescing in it.”
King added that Washington should take a hard line on countries like Hong Kong that don’t cooperate with the U.S. government in such cases, warning that “business cannot go on as usual” when U.S. demands are not met.
