Joshua Wong

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.

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

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.

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.

I'm not a hero. The Hongkongers who confronted tear gas in the streets are the heroes.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.