Cyber-Spy vs Cyber-Spy
Hacking by the United States and China into each other's national secrets neither serves the welfare of their people nor their respective ambitions
One government thinks it should be able to spy on anyone, including its own citizens, because it is keeping the world safe. The other government thinks it should be able to steal anything because it has been a victim.
The essence of the US-China spat over cyber-espionage reveals hypocrisy on the American side and misdirection on the Chinese side. Neither government is truly serving the welfare of its own people with their respective claims.
This is not just another China- US tiff – the two governments are harming their own countries
Start with the US. The (untenable) American position is that it conducts pervasive espionage but only on security matters. And every country does that.
The US insists its security-related spying is more extensive and successful than anyone else's merely because it has better technology and more resources.
And while the US government does steal economic information, it vows that nothing is passed on to American corporations. By themselves, American actions are already a global irritant that probably enhance US security, but certainly reduce US prestige.
When combined with criticism of China for commercial espionage, the American position becomes a bit silly, especially when the US justifies its actions by saying that countries have always spied on each other for security reasons, not commercial ones.
