Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
I think Hong Kong people's struggle for democracy is similar to David versus Goliath. But this struggle is not just about me.
Hong Kong is different to mainland China. We protect our freedoms. We ask for free elections to elect the leader of our city.
If the Internet or air traffic of the financial center of the world shuts down, of course the world needs to have a say on it.
The Umbrella Movement was a legacy, not a victory, because there weren't any concrete policies or systematic reforms after it.
In a world where ideas and ideals flow freely, we want what everybody else in an advanced society seems to have: a say in our future.
We shall continue our fight for democracy and freedom because we do not accept that Hong Kong will be transformed into a police state.
I have the responsibility to tell everybody that I am not the only political prisoner in Hong Kong and that there will be more coming.
We do not want to see a Hong Kong that enjoys freedoms on paper but whose autonomous status conceals the workings of a totalitarian state.
Detention cells in Hong Kong are not pleasant. In Thailand they are even worse. In Hong Kong you are at least allowed to see your lawyers.
When I was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018, I felt that this should go to all of the Hong Kong people who fight for democracy.
I am absolutely certain that my unlawful detention by the Thai authorities was motivated by their fear of youth movements around the world.
During the Umbrella Movement, the police force wasn't in control, and the police ignored the law and tried to use extreme force to hurt people.
Hong Kong is not just a global financial center. It's also a place with a lot of teens and youth who love freedom, democracy, and human rights.
We do not want to see a Hong Kong that enjoys freedoms on paper, but whose autonomous status conceals the workings of a totalitarian state beneath.
The Umbrella Movement can be described as an encyclopedia. Politicians and student leaders wrote it, and let the masses read it and react passively.
The Lantos Human Rights Prize is intended to serve as a beacon of hope, justice and human decency in a world too often covered in a shroud of darkness.
We desire and thirst for freedom, democracy and the rule of law just like anyone else. And we are prepared to fight tooth and nail for all of those things.
My phone and email have been hacked, I've been arrested by the police and followed by the pro-China people or the photographers from the pro-China newspapers.
I hope those who previously only thought of Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee regarding Hong Kong would now realise that the city is also a place fighting for democracy.
I believe elitism in politics is over, and a new path to achieving democracy should be charted by young people who have the most at stake in the future of our city.
Historically, Hong Kong has served as an important bridge between China and the world. Our freedoms, stability and the rule of law have been the reasons for our success.
If Hong Kong could exercise democratic self-governance under the sovereignty of China, it would not be necessary for us to take this step on the path toward independence.
Adversity will only sharpen our wits and make us more strong-willed, resulting in the political awakening of more Hong Kongers, not to mention the international community's support.
Back in 2014, my fellow Hong Kongers and I hoped to use nonviolent means to fight for our territory's democratic system - a simple right, promised by Beijing, to choose our own leader.
We long to have a home where civil freedoms are respected, where our children will not be subject to mass surveillance, abuse of human rights, political censorship and mass incarceration.
Even if the CCP is willing to stick with 'one country, two systems' in principle, no one can say for certain whether Hong Kong's freedoms of speech and the press would survive in reality.
I hope that even if I go to jail, it will motivate more and more Hongkongers to commit to determine our future, instead of fully relying on those ruling class who have dominated our future.
As I reflect on the successes and failures of our push for democracy, reading widely in search for a path out of authoritarian rule, I'll keep writing to encourage myself and those on my side.
Some people say that given the government's firm stance against genuine universal suffrage, our demands are impossible to achieve. But I believe activism is about making the impossible possible.
I love the sense of belonging in Hong Kong. I love that it is such an international city. I love our food and our language. The people are energetic and passionate. I just really love this city.
If I don't commit to fighting for the future, 20 years later, 30 years later, after the end of the expiration date of the joint declaration, Hong Kong will be more at risk and in greater danger.
I am one of the facilitators, helping to make the voice of Hongkongers heard in the international community. I also organize student class boycotts and provide assistance for high school students.
Hong Kong was promised democracy under the framework known as 'one country, two systems,' and China is ignoring this promise. The international community should be more attuned to this. It matters.
I don't know if I'm going to jail for three weeks, three months, or three years, but I think what I've done to motivate Hongkongers to care about this city, to try to love this country, is still valuable.
Hong Kong people do not keep silent and I urge people around the world to keep their eyes on Hong Kong and the passion with which people are fighting for basic rights. We never give up and we will not be silenced.
In 2011, when I established the activist group Scholarism, I could have not imagined that a year later, 100,000 people would take to the street and occupy for a week to urge the government to withdraw the national education curriculum.
In December 2014, during the final days of the Umbrella Movement, prominent signs proclaiming We'll Be Back sprang up along Harcourt Road, one of the three major thruways occupied by peaceful pro-democracy protesters for nearly three months.
Hong Kong has always been a symbol of the vibrant and free exchange of cultures, commerce and ideas. This reputation is threatened, however, in the face of China's efforts to increase its authoritarian control within its sphere of influence.
I think that compared to other politicians who have been put in jail in the past, compared to the human-rights activists in history who have had to face political prosecution, the activists in Hong Kong nowadays are already quite lucky compared to that.
Hong Kong might be a small place, but its people make it unique. The iconic images of skyscrapers in this bustling metropolis are famous around the world, but it is the people of Hong Kong, standing up for their city on the streets, who make it truly great.
People may recognize me as some sort of superhero, but it's different. Spider-Man and all these other superheroes, they get superpowers and do what they want to save the city. If we need to save Hong Kong, we can't rely on superpowers, we can just rely on the people.
I have been fighting for democracy since I was 15 when I organised a strike to oppose the Hong Kong government's plan to introduce the Chinese patriotic school education; 100,000 people surrounded a government building with students asking for democracy for every citizen.
My generation, the so-called post-'90s generation that came of age after the territory was returned to China, would have the most to lose if Hong Kong were to become like just another mainland Chinese city, where information is not freely shared and the rule of law is ignored.
The police force has repeatedly demonstrated an inability and unwillingness to carry out its fundamental mandate: to serve and protect the people of Hong Kong. It has been reduced to a mere instrument of repression subservient to the political agenda of Beijing's regime in Hong Kong.
For generations of Hong Kongers, the only means of upward mobility and the only way to meaningfully contribute to society have been to obtain a respectable university degree (preferably in business administration) and a professional accreditation (in finance, accounting, law or medicine).
We long to have a home where civil freedoms are respected, where our children will not be subject to mass surveillance, abuse of human rights, political censorship and mass incarceration. We stand with all the free peoples of the world and hope you stand with us in our quest for justice and freedom.
I have never criticised the Thai government. I was only invited there to share my experiences of being a young man who took part in the umbrella movement. And this led to me being detained as soon as I stepped off the plane and being treated in a way that goes completely against human rights and the law.
We should, through civic referendums, determine our own pathways and political status after 2047, because in this lies the future of our democratic movement. If Hong Kong could exercise democratic self-governance under the sovereignty of China, it would not be necessary for us to take this step on the path toward independence.
From horrific incidents of police brutality and complicity in indiscriminate attacks by triads on citizens to arbitrary mass arrests and the banning of demonstrations, the government has employed nearly every weapon in its war chest to intimidate Hong Kongers into silence and to suppress their popular struggle for democracy and freedom.