However, the question is where to find that balance between security and privacy. And while the U.S. public may agree to such surveillance to protect national security, what about the privacy of foreigners?

Teng noted that it is the general practice of the United States to overemphasize its own security and rights while disregarding or criticizing other countries.

Li Yuxiao, a professor with the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications and an expert on social networking studies, said the United States claims to protect the free flow of information in its international cyber space strategy. Its long-term goal, however, is to serve the interests of the United States in controlling the cyber world.

In Li's opinion, the free flow of information must be based on the protection of the legal rights and privacy of individual Internet users.

Scapegoating China

In a TV news program on June 16, former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney denounced Snowden as a traitor, and said China would "probably be willing to provide immunity for [Snowden] or sanctuary for him in exchange for what he presumably knows or doesn't know," hinting that Snowden is a Chinese spy.

Teng said the PRISM program is a big scandal for the U.S. Government because privacy is a sensitive issue in the West. Cheney is no doubt trying to shift the focus, while warning China not to contact Snowden for intelligence, he added.

China's Foreign Ministry rejected spy claims against Snowden. The latter also denied that he has any links with China. In a live Q&A with Guardian readers from a secret location in Hong Kong, Snowden said the accusations from American politicians are a "predictable smear" designed to "distract from the issue of U.S. Government misconduct."

"If I were a Chinese spy, why wouldn't I have flown directly into Beijing?" said the whistleblower.

Snowden said it is the highest honor as an American to be called a traitor by Cheney, who he said helped engineer the warrantless wiretapping program during the run-up to the Iraq War, which has killed over 4,400 Americans as well as more than 100,000 Iraqis. Snowden added that he fled the country because he doubts that he will be given a fair trial at home.

From what Snowden has revealed, the United States holds an absolute advantage in "cyber warfare" and can launch cyber attacks worldwide at any time. Meanwhile, it poses as a victim of cyber attacks and accuses other countries, including China, of the same misdeeds it has been shown to inflict upon its own citizens.

Observers believe that by pressing Beijing, Washington is trying to set rules for other countries in the cyber security domain that would guarantee the dominance of the United States in cyber space.

"The development of the Internet should be an issue concerning everyone. It is not reasonable for a country to set rules for the whole world for its own benefit, nor is it fair to engage in universal monitoring," Li said.

Email us at: yulintao@bjreview.com