Edward Snowden: I took no secret documents from Hong Kong to Russia
NSA whistle-blower insists he gave away all papers in HK, and had no plans to defect
Former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden says he did not take any secret documents with him when he fled Hong Kong for Russia and insists he had no intention of defecting while holed up in the city.
The 30-year-old American also claimed there was no danger of China getting its hands on any of the material he had because, having taught a course on Chinese cyber counterintelligence during his time as a contractor for the US National Security Agency, he had extensive knowledge of how the country's intelligence services worked.
In an interview with The New York Times, Snowden - who has been granted asylum in Russia - said he gave all the classified papers he had obtained to reporters he met in Hong Kong before flying to Moscow from Chek Lap Kok on June 23.
Before leaving for Moscow, Snowden revealed to the Post that computer systems in both Hong Kong and the mainland had been extensively monitored and compromised by NSA operations. He shared a number of classified NSA documents with the Post.
The ex-NSA contractor also met former Guardian reporter Glenn Greenwald in Hong Kong around the same time.
Snowden said he did not take the documents with him "because it wouldn't serve the public interest". Greenwald has said he has "thousands" of secret files.