[mpyne]

Well, remember what Cardinal Richelieu said about being able to convict someone on 6 sentences.

There was a valid criminal complaint, the rest that follows is international politics just like spying or cyberattacks; if Hong Kong had intended to comply with the complaint and arrest Snowden to start extradition proceedings they would have found an excuse to. If Hong Kong did not intend to comply then some reasoning would be found, "mistakenly" or otherwise, within the legal code to technically invalidate or delay the request.

Apparently Hong Kong or China didn't feel like complying. It's just not often we get to see cloak-and-dagger style diplomacy played out so publicly.