The United States should explain to internet users around the world why it accessed their private conversations, credit cards and emails, one of China's leading dailies said in an editorial on Thursday.
"We have to figure out how we are affected by the [hacking], we have the right to ask the American government for an explanation," the editorial read. "For instance, on whether the 'Prism programme' has been used in commercial negotiations between Chinese and US companies," referring to a programme by the US' National Security Agency, which tracks web traffic and phone records.
The editorial on the Global Times website appeared half a day after US whistleblower Edward Snowden confronted the South China Morning Post with what he said was conclusive evidence the US had been infiltrating Chinese and Hong Kong networks for years through its "Prism" programme.
The Global Times is one of China's most widely-sold daily papers. Its editorial line has a reputation for being stridently nationalistic.
It offers a hint at a consensus forming among Chinese decision makers on how to deal with Snowden seeking refuge in Hong Kong as Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying and Hong Kong's Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying refused to comment on the case.
The editorial argued that Snowden's statement has "confirmed speculation" on US hacking.
