‘Joshua Wong is a brave and inspiring young leader.’ – GRETA THUNBERG
Imprisoned on 2 December 2020 for the third time, read Joshua Wong’s urgent and powerful story – the Hong Konger fighting for democracy.
INTRODUCTION BY AI WEIWEI, FOREWORD BY CHRIS PATTEN
Unfree Speech is Joshua’s urgent call for us to defend our democratic values, whoever we are.
It chronicles Joshua’s path to activism, collects the letters he wrote as a political prisoner, and closes with a powerful and urgent manifesto for us to defend our democracies at time of global flux and change.
Joshua Wong made history when he was 14. While the adults stayed silent, Joshua staged the first ever student protest in Hong Kong to oppose National Education – and won.
Since then, he led the Umbrella Movement, founded a political party, and rallied the international community around the Hong Kong protests, which saw 2 million people take to the streets. Now, he is in jail again. His actions have sparked worldwide attention and earned him a Nobel Peace Prize nomination, as he continues to fight for what he believes in.
His message is clear: when we stay silent, no one is safe. When we free our speech, our voice becomes one.
‘If we want freedom, we need to learn from Hong Kong. With values, tactics, and courage, Joshua Wong shows us the way.’ – Timothy Snyder, bestselling author of On Tyranny
‘A guide to mobilising for democracy and representation in and far beyond Hong Kong.’ – Julia Lovell, award-winning author of Maoism
– The Times Book of the Week –
– Observer Book of the Week –
– Named by the Financial Times as one of the 50 people who shaped the decade –
