Joshua Wong Quotes

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.

You don’t need role models to be part of a social movement as long as you care about the issues.

Sometimes it feels as if I major in activism and minor in university.

China is dead set on making Hong Kong more like it.

If a mass movement turns into worshipping a particular person, that’s a great problem.

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.

Being famous is part of my job.

I’m convinced democracy will grow from the ground up, from the community.

Teachers have always said my only strength is talking and that I talk very fast.

The Umbrella Movement can be described as an encyclopedia. Politicians and student leaders wrote it, and let the masses read it and react passively.

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 hope Hong Kong isn’t just named Hong Kong but it can still be the Hong Kong we desire.

We want Hongkongers to decide the future of Hong Kong.

Truth be told, relying on ‘one country, two systems’ to preserve our values is a lost cause.

Hong Kongers deserve universal suffrage.

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’m truly convinced that by living up to the values we stand for, we can serve as a moral inspiration for others, just as we’ve been morally inspired by those who came before us.

I am absolutely certain that my unlawful detention by the Thai authorities was motivated by their fear of youth movements around the world.

We will continue civil disobedience to fight for democracy and for human rights in Hong Kong.

I have experienced threats. Not just to me, but to my family.

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 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.

The education system of Hong Kong has often been slammed for marginalising a lot of people.

Will Beijing really send out the army to suppress our protests? Never say never.

I am a pro-democracy activist asking for free elections in Hong Kong.

I’m not scared, because I know that I need to face the trial. What I mean is, I already expect I will need to pay the price.

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 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.

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.

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.

Many issues are closely related to politics and I think Hong Kongers should pay more attention to politics.

Beyond the barricades we long to see a Hong Kong free from tyranny and a puppet government.

Carrie Lam is a proxy leader.The final decision-maker is President Xi.

Hong Kong people stand in the front line to confront authoritarian suppression.

We shall continue our fight for democracy and freedom because we do not accept that Hong Kong will be transformed into a police state.

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 will continue our protest with our course on free elections.

The fight for democracy is a long-term battle.

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 people may be ethnically Chinese, but lots of people do not consider ourselves, including me, as Chinese citizens.

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’m a Christian and my motivation for joining activism is that I think we should be salt and light.

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.

Having grown up under Chinese rule, I don’t have any memory of colonial Hong Kong or feel any attachment to it.

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.

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.

We are not seeking revolution. We just want democracy.

Hong Kong’s government needs to bear most of the responsibility for the Fishball Revolution.

We do not believe in authoritarian rule.

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 recognize Taiwan as the beacon of Asian democracy.

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.

Self-determination means the political and economic status of Hong Kong should be freely determined by the Hong Kong people.

Hong Kong is the city with the highest degree of freedom of all the Chinese territories.

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.

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.

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.

Beijing’s imperial reach extends far and wide, from Taiwan and Xinjiang to the South China Sea and beyond.

Our city finds itself in an uncomfortable place: on the frontline between freedom and auto_cracy.

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.

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.

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.