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Albert Ho one of Mr. Snowden s lawyers said that before the dinner began Mr. Snowden insisted that everyone hide their cellphones in the refrigerator of the home where he was staying to block any eavesdropping. Then began a two hour conversation during which Mr. Snowden was deeply dismayed to learn that he could spend years in prison without access to a computer during litigation over whether he would be granted asylum here or surrendered to the United States Mr. Ho said.

Staying cooped up in the cramped Hong Kong home of a local supporter was not bothersome to Mr. Snowden but the prospect of losing his computer scared him.

He didn t go out he spent all his time inside a tiny space but he said it was O.K. because he had his computer Mr. Ho said. If you were to deprive him of his computer that would be totally intolerable.

The outcome of that meeting Mr. Ho said was a decision by Mr. Snowden by Friday morning to have Mr. Ho pose two questions to the Hong Kong government would he be released on bail if he were detained in Hong Kong at the request of the United States and would the Hong Kong government interfere if Mr. Snowden tried to go to the airport and leave Hong Kong instead.

A person with a detailed knowledge of the Hong Kong government s deliberations said that the government had been delighted to receive the questions. Leung Chun ying the chief executive and his top advisers had been struggling through numerous meetings for days canceling or postponing most other meetings while trying to decide what to do in response to an American request for Mr. Snowden s detention even as public opinion in Hong Kong seemed to favor protecting the fugitive.

But Mr. Snowden s choice of Mr. Ho to represent him raised a problem said the person knowledgeable about the government s deliberations who insisted on anonymity because of the diplomatic sensitivities in the case. Mr. Ho a member of the territory s legislature for nearly 20 years is a former chairman of the Democratic Party and a longtime campaigner for full democracy here to the irritation of government leaders of the territory which was returned by Britain to China in 1997.

The Hong Kong government doesn t trust him the person said adding that the Hong Kong government also did not want to be involved in any direct negotiations with Mr. Snowden. So the government found an intermediary someone with longstanding connections to the local government but not in office to bypass Mr. Ho and contact Mr. Snowden through someone in the Hong Kong community who was helping Mr. Snowden.

The intermediary told Mr. Snowden Friday night that the government could not predict what Hong Kong s independent judiciary would do but that serving jail time while awaiting trial was a possibility. The intermediary also said that the Hong Kong government would welcome Mr. Snowden s departure Mr. Ho and the person who insisted on anonymity said. Both declined to identify the intermediary.

The Hong Kong government said that it would not interfere with Mr. Snowden s departure and even provided unobtrusive police protection for him as he went through the airport both of them said.

But Mr. Ho said Mr. Snowden went through the same security and immigration channels as most passengers at the airport rather than a special channel usually used for people involved in highly political cases a sign that the Hong Kong government wanted to minimize its involvement in Mr. Snowden s departure.

At the same time the Hong Kong government s encouragement for Mr. Snowden to leave instead of a suggestion that he stay and fight any return to the United States had persuaded him that staying was risky because the Hong Kong government might not be on his side. He would not like to fight with the Hong Kong government with the Chinese government and the U.S. government against him Mr. Ho said.

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