UNFREE SPEECH
Joshua Wong
A young citizen of Hong Kong named Joshua Wong started speaking up as a teenager against policies that he considered to be unfair and undemocratic. He and other students his age prioritized freedom and human rights and used their resources to bring these issues to attention, but in the process were met with brute force – as minors.
Born in 1996, Joshua spent his first few years at a defining moment in the history of his native Hong Kong. He begins his book, which is divided into three parts, describing his childhood and his tendency to be vocal about issues that mattered to him – even using social media to improve his school’s lunch menu.
Raised in a Christian home, Joshua writes that he came to the realization that faith meant action when he visited a home for senior citizens, something he would regularly do with his father, a devout Christian who often volunteered to help people in need. He was troubled that though they visited the home in all sincerity, life hadn’t changed for the residents.
I was convinced that God has put me on this world for a reason: He wanted me to do more than just praise His name and study the Bible. He wanted me to take action.
Joshua Wong – Unfree Speech
It was around this time that a feeling of restlessness, in his own words, started to take root in him. Introduced to politics by his friend in school, Joshua got more involved in learning about crucial issues and creating change in areas that mattered to him and the future of other young Hong Kongers.
He took to Facebook once again with other like-minded young people, went on to launch an Scholarism (which later became a political party named Demosisto) to oppose policies related to the country’s education system, organize peaceful calls for electoral reform, play an important role in the Umbrella Movement and be arrested – the first of several times – at the young age of seventeen.
The second and third parts of Unfree Speech consist of Joshua’s letters and thoughts from prison from 2017 onward and details about his activism, which took him to the US Congress in 2019. From Romans 5:3-4, he reflects on suffering which, as Christians know, only strengthens our faith and produces hope in God’s protection and response.
…but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.
Romans 5:3-4
It is easier to keep our heads down or escape an uncomfortable or dangerous situation rather than confront it, whether it’s a problem at home or something much more complex. Our Christian faith, though, teaches us to be moved by the uncomfortable or dangerous things we see and step forward to find out if we can help and perhaps even solve the problem. This is what the parable of the Good Samaritan teaches.
Fear of what may happen to us if we get involved in important issues is what keeps most of us from stepping forward to help others. Then there are people like Joshua whose faith in God and whose own conscience give him the determination to spend his life working to bring about change to make others’ lives better.
Joshua Wong, now in his mid-twenties, is back in prison. For a teenager to risk nearly everything for his country is summed up in his interpretation of the meaning of his name and the prophet he was named after, explained in his book Unfree Speech.
PRAYER
Dear Jesus, for people around the world who risk so much because they choose not to accept what is not right, protect them. Please protect Joshua’s life, comfort and strengthen him when he needs it, and help us to do what we can in our own ways to do as you instructed in the Gospel of Luke and not fear the robbers, but help people in need – which could also include ourselves. Build your kingdom on Earth through us. In Jesus’ Name, amen.
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DID YOU KNOW?
Netflix has a documentary about Joshua and his peers, titled Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower. He was TIME magazine’s Most Influential Teens of 2014 and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017.