Unfree Speech
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  • Published: 6 February 2020
  • ISBN: 9780753557952
  • Imprint: Virgin Digital
  • Format: Audio Download
  • Length: 5 hr 11 min
  • Narrator: Dexter Galang
  • RRP: $17.99

Unfree Speech

The Threat to Global Democracy and Why We Must Act, Now

Formats & editions
EBook
6 Feb 2020
Audiobook
6 Feb 2020
Paperback
6 Feb 2020
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The urgent, first book from global phenomenon Joshua Wong – leader of the Hong Kong protests, Nobel prize nominee and TIME, Forbes and Fortune world leader – who will tell us how he took on the biggest country in the world, and why we all have a stake in the global fight for democracy.

Brought to you by Penguin.

- Introduction by Ai Weiwei -

An urgent manifesto for global democracy from the leading 23-year-old Hong Kong activist - Nobel Peace Prize nominee and TIME, Forbes and Fortune world leader.

At what point do you stand up to power?

Age 14, Joshua Wong made history. While the adults stayed silent, Joshua staged the first ever student protest in Hong Kong to oppose National Education – and won.

Since then Joshua founded Demosisto, led the Umbrella Revolution and spearheaded the Extradition Bill protests, which have seen an estimated 2 million people – more than a quarter of the population – take to Hong Kong’s streets. His actions have sparked worldwide attention, a Nobel Peace Prize nomination and over 100 days in jail.

In Unfree Speech, Joshua tells his story for the first time. Composed in three parts, Joshua chronicles his path to politics, collects the letters he wrote as a political prisoner under the Chinese state, and closes with a powerful and urgent call for all of us around the world to defend our democratic rights.

Hong Kong is the canary in the coal mine. When we stay silent, no-one is safe: when we free our speech, they can’t stop all of us.

© Jason Y. Ng and Joshua Wong 2020 (P) Penguin Audio 2020
  • Published: 6 February 2020
  • ISBN: 9780753557952
  • Imprint: Virgin Digital
  • Format: Audio Download
  • Length: 5 hr 11 min
  • Narrator: Dexter Galang
  • RRP: $17.99
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About the authors

Joshua Wong

Joshua Wong was born in 1996. He has been named by TIME, Fortune, Prospect and Forbes as one of the world’s most influential leaders. In 2018 he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his leading role in the Umbrella Revolution. He is Secretary-General of Demosisto, a pro-democracy organisation which he founded in 2016 that advocates for self-determination in Hong Kong. Joshua came onto the political scene in 2011 aged 14, when he founded Scholarism and successfully protested against the enforcement of Chinese National Education in Hong Kong. He has been arrested by the Chinese state numerous times for his protesting and activism and has served over 100 days in jail. He has been the subject of two documentaries, including the Netflix original documentary, Joshua: Teenager vs Superpower. This is the first time his work has been published in English.

portrait photo of Joshua Wong

Jason Y. Ng

Jason Y. Ng is a lawyer, activist, newspaper columnist, former president of PEN Hong Kong and author of three acclaimed books charting Hong Kong’s post-colonial development, HONG KONG State of Mind, No City for Slow Men, and Umbrellas in Bloom. He has followed Joshua’s story from its beginnings in 2011, and has continued to report and advocate for his cause ever since.

portrait photo of Jason Y. Ng

Praise for Unfree Speech

If we want freedom, we need to learn from Hong Kong. With values, tactics, and courage, Joshua Wong shows us the way.

Timothy Snyder, historian and bestselling author of On Tyranny and The Road to Unfreedom

Joshua Wong represents a new generation of rebel. All they require and demand is a single value: freedom.

Ai Weiwei, artist and activist

Joshua Wong is a brave and inspiring young leader. Together we are one loud voice that cannot be silenced.

Greta Thunberg, climate change activist and bestselling author of No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference

One of the most prominent political activists in the world ... a powerful insight into the turbulence on the city's streets that made world headlines

Rana Mitter, Sunday Times

A call to arms for the Snapchat generation ... This book is a memoir of an extraordinary decade in which Wong went from a nerdy obsession with Marvel comics to a Netflix documentary in which he was characterised as a superhero for democracy.

Tim Adams, The Observer (Book of the Week)

[Wong's] tenacious dynamism shines through Unfree Speech: a guide to mobilising for democracy and representation in and far beyond Hong Kong.

Julia Lovell, award-winning author of Maoism