Except these are civilian targets in HK. Collecting arbitrary data on US citizens is no different from collecting arbitrary data on HK and Chinese citizens. Innocent people's privacy is still being violated on a large scale.
Of course the Chinese government also hacks US civilian targets, primarily American tech companies, but two wrongs don't make a right.
I meant from a moral/ethical standpoint, not a legal one. Obviously people who are not US citizens or residents have no legal protection under US law.
What I'm saying is that the effect of either action is more or less the same. The NSA is secretly obtaining the personal information of a lot of people who are in no way a threat to the US. Whether those people are American or Chinese doesn't matter one way or the other to me.
Of course the Chinese government also hacks US civilian targets, primarily American tech companies, but two wrongs don't make a right.