The US Is This Era's Real Villain

Before doing anything else, the U.S. should come clean about its Internet surveillance activity. It owes an explanation to China and the other countries it has secretly monitored. The U.S. must tell the rest of the world the scope, extent and objectives of its secret Internet surveillance project.

On June 23, shortly after Snowden left Hong Kong for Moscow, the Chinese government — long accused by the U.S. of Internet hacking — declared through Beijing’s Xinhua Network that the U.S. owes an explanation to the rest of the world on this issue and that the U.S. is actually this era’s biggest villain. An excerpt of the report follows:

“Edward Snowden, a U.S. intelligence contractor who divulged some of the most secretive spying activities of the U.S. government, has put Washington in a really awkward situation. In the past few months, U.S. politicians and media outlets have thrown out one Internet spying accusation after another against China, trying to [portray] it as one of the biggest perpetrators of Internet spying activities. Those claims were even highlighted during a highly anticipated summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his American counterpart Barack Obama held earlier this month in California, which had been designed to help the world's two biggest economies build a new type of major power relations.”

Discussions were progressing smoothly, up until the U.S. National Security Agency’s PRISM surveillance program was exposed. According to Snowden, the U.S. espionage program extends not only to its own citizens, but also to government agencies, academia, businesses, etc. of other countries worldwide.

After Snowden escaped the U.S., he made contact with Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post. According to the publication’s latest report, the U.S. government has already hacked into the computer system of China Telecom, as well as Tsinghua University’s Internet hub.

The U.S.’s previous accusations about China’s cyberactivity now appear to be smokescreens meant to annoy and disturb. These new actions show that the U.S., which has long played the part of innocent victim subjected to cyberattacks, is actually our era’s biggest villain.

Currently, the U.S. is scrambling to arrange for Snowden’s extradition. However, the U.S. should first come clean about its own records and activity. The U.S. owes an explanation to China and the other countries it has allegedly spied on. It must report to the world the scope, extent and objectives of its secret surveillance program.

Surrounding the drama that Snowden has staged is a general sentiment that leans toward China’s viewpoint on the issue of Internet security. The U.S. and China, as well as many other countries, have all been victims of cyberattacks. Facing the unknown territories of the Internet world, these countries should sit down and discuss their doubts. If intentions are good, they could even establish some groundwork provisions, beginning to define and regulate Internet activity so that a mechanism will be available for resolving conflict should friction occur.

The ball is currently in the United States’ court. The U.S. government should make every move to address the concerns and worries growing in other countries.

Additionally, in a press conference on June 23, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying expressed grave concern about the United States’ hacking activity in China. One journalist asked what response China had toward media reports that the U.S. has launched cyberattacks against China Telecom and Tsinghua University. According to Hua, the recently disclosed attacks have once more proved that China has been a victim of cyberinvasion. China has already sought to negotiate this matter with the U.S.

“I would like to reiterate that China opposes all forms of cyberattacks,” Hua said. “[We are] ready to actively carry out dialogue and cooperation with the international community to maintain peace and security of cyberspace.”