Freedom: How We Lose It and How We Fight Back

Activist Nathan Law experienced firsthand the speed with which our freedom can be taken away.

When sovereignty over Hong Kong was handed to China in 1997, Hong Kong was guaranteed freedom of the press, expression, and assembly. However, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been chipping away at these rights and, since 2014, restricting free and fair elections. Law writes, ＂When governments control access to information and are able to define the narrative and dictate what we know, we lose more than our freedoms. We lose the ability to see the world for what it is. We lose our humanity.＂

In 2016, Law became the youngest-ever elected legislator in Hong Kong on a pro-democracy platform and was subsequently imprisoned for his role as a leader of the Umbrella Movement. He now lives in exile.

An urgent rallying cry, Freedom warns of the dangers of authoritarianism and inspires us to protect democracy and freedom--or face losing them forever.

In 2016, Nathan Law became Hong Kong’s youngest elected lawmaker at just 23. A year later, he was imprisoned by the Chinese authorities for his part in the Umbrella Movement. He has since been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for his pro-democracy advocacy and named one of TIME magazine’s People of the Year 2020. He has a master’s degree in East Asian Studies from Yale University and is a Pritzker Fellow at the University of Chicago. He lives in London.

Evan Fowler is a writer and researcher focusing on Hong Kong and China affairs.