China's top state newspaper - the voice of the communist party - has praised whistleblower Edward Snowden for "tearing off Washington's sanctimonious mask".

The People's Daily, which reflects the official thinking of the Chinese government, criticised America for attacking Hong Kong's decision to allow the former CIA analyst to flee.

Snowden's location isn't known, but he is thought to be in Russia, having skipped a flight from Moscow to Havana, Cuba he was expected to take yesterday. He was expected to travel on from Cuba to Ecuador, possibly via Venezuela, but Ecuador's foreign minister has said they don't know where he is either.  

On Sunday, he left Hong Kong suddenly, hours after the US requested his extradition.

The White House has expressed its unhappiness at Hong Kong's failure to handover their fugitive - they are especially annoyed that Snowden was allowed to travel on a cancelled passport. US government spokesperson Jay Carney has said that decision "...unquestionably has a negative impact on the US-China relationship." 

Traitor V fearless idealist

US Secretary of State John Kerry has dubbed Snowden a traitor, and warned both Russia and China that their relations with the US might be damaged by their refusal to extradite him.

The Chinese government said it was gravely concerned by Snowden's allegations that the United States had hacked into many networks in Hong and China.

"In a sense, the United States has gone from a 'model of human rights' to 'an eavesdropper on personal privacy', the 'manipulator' of the centralised power over the international internet, and the mad 'invader' of other countries' networks," the Chinese paper said.

"The world will remember Edward Snowden. It was his fearlessness that tore off Washington's sanctimonious mask."

Another commentary in the Global Times, owned by the People's Daily, also attacked the United States for cornering a "young idealist who has exposed the sinister scandals of the US government".

Former CIA officer Bob Ayers says it'll be difficult to track Snowden without the help of other country's governments: 

Assange assisting

Snowden is being assisted by WikiLeaks, and its founder Julian Assange says he has applied for asylum in Ecuador, Iceland, and possibly other countries.

Above, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange pictured outside court, during his own legal travails

He added that the ex-National Security Agency contractor is "healthy and safe", but refused to discuss his whereabouts.

Assange was speaking from Ecuador's embassy in London where he has been holed up for months, as he faces arrest and extradition to Sweden over sex assault allegations if he leaves.

Snowden, 30, is accused of espionage by the US, after disclosing information on top-secret surveillance programmes.