Residents of Hong Kong showed support for Edward Snowden, Hong Kong's newest resident, in a march held on Saturday, according to ABC News.
Braving miserably and rainy weather a group of at least 200 people marched to the U.S. consulate chanting "Free Snowden" and "Arrest Obama" while many held up huge signs. After reaching the consulate the group blew whistles to signify that they were "all whistle-blowers today" and handed a letter over to Consul General Steve Young, ABC News reports.
"The idea of mass surveillance not only violates the right to privacy and human dignity, but threatens the very fundamental Human Rights of freedom of thought, opinion, expression and association," the letter said.
1,000 people had been expected at the rally but crowds were fall smaller than that, the weather may have been at least partially responsible. Roughly 50 percent of Hong Kong residents polled think that their government should refuse to release Snowden if Washington attempts to have him extradited, the South China Morning Post reports.
In a recent interview Snowden told the South China Morning Post that the NSA had been routinely hacking computers in China and Hong Kong since 2009. Most often the targets of the hacks were university students and public officials.
Albert Ho, a former chairman of the Democratic Party of Hong Kong, an outspoken critic of Beijing's restrictions of civil liberties, started the rally off with a speech, according to The New York Times.
"He (Snowden) should be given the right to stay in Hong Kong," Ho said. "We must not let anybody intervene - we must be able to show that Hong Kong will not give in to pressure from other governments."
An opinion printed in the China Daily, the official English language newspaper in China, used the leaks as a means to criticize pro-democracy advocates in Hong Kong.
"The latest leaks have put the local rights politicians in a rather awkward position by exposing their idol's true character," the opinion read.
A retiree who rarely considers going to protests, Marcus Ho, told The New York Times why he felt this march was important.
"Snowden is being persecuted by a huge institution," Ho said. "We must do something to help."
