Democracy Activists

"But I understand I have no right to give up, because people who are in jail didn't give up. They now are suffering for us. Only these people, the families of those repressed in Belarus, have given me the energy to go on."

"Democracy is about participation in the first place. And with participation comes responsibility for decisions and actions."

"Personally, I am against deeper integration with Russia because Belarus is a sovereign nation. We want to be independent. We want to find friends and not enemies among other countries."

"In Hong Kong, in order to be able to have discussions at all, we need a free press first. Unfortunately, that is currently not the case."

"The press is society’s fourth estate and has the unparalleled role of informing the public."

"There are many activists who fight for different political goals. But no one thought about the future of digital rights."

"There are more than 100 reasons to give up."

"But when I saw they were offering bounties on the wanted list, my first reaction was to think why aren't I on the list? Haven't I been doing enough?"

"Without press freedom, society would be a really bad place, because there would be no one to hold the government to account."

"I don’t want to put it that way but I will. If Google or other technology companies comply with this national security law, it is actually helping indirectly the Hong Kong government, Chinese government, to oppress or crack down on the civil society."

"The motivation for me as an activist is the belief that no one is subordinate to another. The government is merely an agent of the people. We lend authority to it, and when it performs badly, we reserve the right to take it back."

"The Hong Kong government continues to spout phrases like ‘law-abiding’ and ‘rule of law,’ but the law now serves to uphold the regime rather than protects and safeguards Hong Kongers’ basic rights and freedoms."

"If we say something wrong, then we will be put behind bars. But Hong Kongers never yield. Although they’re not under siege right now because of the pandemic, their mindset about we have to fight the fight for freedom has never actually gone away. They’re still very much aware of the fact that we are still in the middle of the fight, although we seem to be losing and we are not giving up."

"We’re asking for universal suffrage, we’re asking for democracy, we’re asking for freedoms. I ask myself every day if I’m doing enough, so that I won’t feel guilty about the fact that I get to enjoy these freedoms and privileges when my friends and my colleagues cannot. And have I been utilising every moment that I have freely? Do I take breaks responsibly? Do I work hard enough? Do I spend time for myself? And so on. These are all very important questions that you have to ask yourself when everything is going wrong."

"I really love the city and would always love to go home. I do fear coming home and do not feel safe coming back. It’s just not the same place that I grew up in."

"Making use of common law procedures and the veneer of an independent judiciary, the NSL has successfully infiltrated and taken over Hong Kong's legal system, providing law enforcement and prosecutors with unchecked power and legitimacy."

"We don’t persist because we see hope. We only see hope when we persist. Before we succeed, we are not failing. It’s just that we are not there yet."

"We should not suppress our feelings of sadness during our activism. Being upfront with these emotions shows our humanity and gives validation to others feeling the same way."

"We have one million reasons to give up. But we only need one to continue the fight; that is, we know that what we’re doing is right."

"It's unclear how the crime of 'failure to report' under Article 23 will be enforced, but it's definitely putting pressure on us, hoping we'll retreat in the face of difficulty."

"You never know how they will try to find out where you live."

"After reunification, after the North Korean regime collapses, the North Korean people will come and see this affluence and they're going to ask you, “What did you do when we were suffering back in North Korea?” What kind of answer should we give to them?"

"As an intellectual I have the responsibility to be part of this movement and I think that it is my fate or destiny to be part of these activities. Overall, the main reason why I engaged in these activities was because I learned to be angry at the North Korean system."

"My last act of protest will be to do just that, to now disappear with everyone knowing why. I put this in my last will and testament — that my bones shall not be placed in the cathedral, I do not want to be buried with such men. I will be buried in a simple cemetery with what remains of the faithful people of God."

"It is a right and a duty to fight for one's life and for one's faith. So, I think we have to be careful because our fundamental attitude is surely always one of trust, harmony and dialogue, but sometimes, we have to pray for the conversion of our enemies. But we cannot trust them because there is no foundation for any trust. If we trust them, then we put ourselves in danger ― put our faith in danger."

"The Vatican lost everything, and got nothing. I cannot understand why they would do such thing. I’m sure that the Pope has the good intention to gain some space, some breathing space, and maybe one day you can get something better. Okay. But Parolin, the Secretary of State, he knows very well who the Communists are: there’s no way to bargain with the Communists, you get nothing."

"So much is now lost in the city I love: the freedom to tell the truth."

"We don't even know if our next protest, next court hearing, will be followed by imprisonment."

"There’s always one message I have: Hong Kongers will never give up. We aren’t fractured. On the contrary, we’re well-equipped to face the next difficult battle."

"When I spoke out against China's 'one child' policy and other injustices, I was persecuted, beaten, and put under house arrest by the government...In April, 2012, I escaped and was given shelter in the American embassy in Beijing. I am forever grateful to the American people for welcoming me and my family to the United States where we are now free."

"The Chinese Foreign Ministry has said more than once that I am a free person. Did I do anything wrong by leaving my home? If other people helped me leave ... this is something that should be praised. Why then when I leave do they break into my home to beat people, detain them."

"China will see democracy, I’m one hundred per cent sure – it just needs time. If everyone makes an effort to build a more just and civil society then it will come faster and if everyone stands by and does nothing, then it will come slower but is still inevitable. Whether the authorities wish it to or not, the dawn comes and the day breaks just the same."

"Such are the times, that the mere presentation of a report can be a political act. The HRCP has organised its report by province and administrative unit in a nod to the threats faced by the devolution process. After all, those closest, and so most accountable, to the people are best positioned to protect their rights."

"DIRE. That’s the word the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan uses to describe the state of human rights in our country. Its annual report, released last week, makes for a distressing read, particularly in the midst of a pandemic. One wonders, given how widespread rights violations are, when this brutalised body politic will reach its breaking point. [...] The HRCP’s report reminds us that the state's fear of its citizenry is rooted in a deeper knowledge of systemic fissures in our country."

"With the wall breached, everything was possible. On November 10th, Todor Zhivkov, Bulgaria's ruler since 1954, announced that he was stepping down; soon the Bulgarian Communist Party was negotiating with the opposition and promising free elections. On November 17th, demonstrations broke out in Prague and quickly spread throughout Czechoslovakia. Within weeks, a coalition government had ousted the communists, and by the end of the year Alexander Dubcek, who had presided over the 1968 "Prague spring," was installed as chairman of the national assembly, reporting to the new president of Czechoslovakia—Václav Havel."

"My problem was not having a crystal ball to foresee the Russian invasion. At no point between January and August 20, in fact, did I believe that it would happen."

"Dubcek, the bureaucrat with a pleasant smile, was a confusing blend of contradictions. He spent his entire career as the cog in a totalitarian machine and then, when he emerged on top, declared himself a democrat. He was a pragmatist and a dreamer. He could be a skilled maneuverer in the baroque labyrinth of communist politics. But in the end even he admitted that he could be incredibly naïve."

"What has made this whole process so special is that above all - especially in terms of the pace of change – it has been determined by the creative and spontaneous activity of the broad mass of the people, with the communists in the vanguard. In this spirit and in accord with the plenary session of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, people have acted without the slightest manipulation and without being given commands from above. The role of the party is to recognize people’s understanding, to raise it to a higher plane, to support progressive thinking and acts."

"The ban against me isn’t personal, it’s targeting an entire generation."

"For the past decade, we have protested peacefully...but the government did not lend their ears to our views."

"這數年切身感受到，免於恐懼的自由，是多麼可貴的東西。"

"坦白說，我從不否定中國的經濟發展，但一個如此強大的國家，要將爭取民主的人送入監牢、限制出入境自由，還要求以進入中國大陸參觀愛國展覽作為取回護照的交換條件，這何嘗不是一種脆弱呢。"

"Since 1997, I think the human rights situation in Hong Kong has been regressing slowly. It could be that in China, the situation has been improving slowly, and when both sides eventually meet, they can move forward together. My hope is that the regression in Hong Kong will be a little slower, and the improvement in China a little faster, so that both sides meet at a higher point."

"My trust towards China was both built up and broken down by Deng Xiaoping. There was hope due to his economic reforms, but the 4 June massacre killed all that."

"If the struggle for democracy is a long battle, what is a few months or years in prison if I can gain more resilience for the future."

"People in Hong Kong still believe in democracy – the big question after the Umbrella Movement is how we can achieve it."

"There will be darker times ahead for Hong Kong, but the sun will rise again. We need to keep strong."

"We’re moving from a semi-democratic to a semi-authoritarian system and the central government wants to limit our freedoms."

"I hope one day not only Hong Kong people, but also people in mainland China, can enjoy freedom and democracy."

"I only said that independence was one theoretical option for Hong Kong if the party collapses, alongside a federal state or an EU-style confederation."