【Joshua Wong speaking to the Italian Senate】#意大利國會研討會演說 —— 呼籲世界在大學保衛戰一週年後與香港人站在同一陣線

中文、意大利文演說全文：https://www.patreon.com/posts/44167118

感謝開創未來基金會（Fondazione Farefuturo）邀請，讓我透過視像方式在意大利國會裡舉辦的研討會發言，呼籲世界繼續關注香港，與香港人站在同一陣線。

意大利作為絕無僅有參與一帶一路發展的國家，理應對中共打壓有更全面的理解，如今正值大學保衛戰一週年，以致大搜捕的時刻，當打壓更為嚴峻，香港更需要世界與我們同行。

為了讓各地朋友也能更了解香港狀況，我已在Patreon發佈當天演說的中文、英文和意大利文發言稿，盼望在如此困難的時勢裡，繼續讓世界知道我們未曾心息的反抗意志。

【The Value of Freedom: Burning Questions for Hong Kongers】

Good morning. I have the privilege today to share some of my thoughts and reflections about freedom, after taking part in social activism for eight years in Hong Kong. A movement calling for the withdrawal of the extradition law starting from last year had escalated into a demand for democracy and freedom. This city used to be prestigious for being the world’s most liberal economy, but now the infamous authoritarian government took away our freedom to election, freedom of assembly, freedom of expression and ideas.

Sometimes, we cannot avoid questioning the cause we are fighting for, the value of freedom. Despite a rather bleak prospect, why do we have to continue in this struggle? Why do we have to cherish freedom? What can we do to safeguard freedom at home and stay alert to attacks on freedom? In answering these questions, I hope to walk through three episodes in the previous year.

Turning to 2020, protests are not seen as frequently as they used to be on the media lens, partly because of the pandemic, but more importantly for the authoritarian rule. While the world is busy fighting the pandemic, our government took advantage of the virus to exert a tighter grip over our freedom. Putting the emergency laws in place, public assemblies in Hong Kong were banned. Most recently, a rally to support press freedom organized by journalists was also forbidden. While many people may ask if it is the end of street activism, ahead of us in the fight for freedom is another battleground: the court and the prison.

Freedom Fighters in Courtrooms and in Jail

Part of the huge cost incurred in the fight for freedom and democracy in Hong Kong is the increasing judicial casualties. As of today, more than 10 thousand people have been arrested since the movement broke out, more than a hundred of them are already locked up in prison. Among the 2,300 protestors who are prosecuted, 700 of them may be sentenced up to ten years for rioting charges.

Putting these figures into context, I wish to tell you what life is like, as a youngster in today’s Hong Kong. I was humbled by a lot of younger protestors and students whose exceptional maturity are demonstrated in courtrooms and in prison. What is thought to be normal university life is completely out of the question because very likely the neighbour next door or the roommate who cooked you lunch today will be thrown to jail on the next.

I do prison visits a few times a month to talk to activists who are facing criminal charges or serving sentences for their involvement in the movement. It is not just a routine of my political work, but it becomes my life as an activist. Since the movement, prison visits has also become the daily lives of many families.

But it is always an unpleasant experience passing through the iron gates one after one to enter the visitors’ room, speaking to someone who is deprived of liberty, for a selflessly noble cause. As an activist serving three brief jail terms, I understand that the banality of the four walls is not the most difficult to endure in jail. What is more unbearable is the control of thought and ideas in every single part of our daily routine enforced by the prison system. It will diminish your ability to think critically and the worst of it will persuade you to give up on what you are fighting for, if you have not prepared it well. Three years ago when I wrote on the first page of prison letters, which later turned into a publication called the ‘Unfree Speech’, I was alarmed at the environment of the prison cell. Those letters were written in a state in which freedom was deprived of and in which censorship was obvious. It brings us to question ourselves: other than physical constraints like prison bars, what makes us continue in the fight for freedom and democracy?

Mutual Support to activists behind-the-scene

The support for this movement is undiminished over these 17 months. There are many beautiful parts in the movement that continue to revitalise the ways we contribute to this city, instead of making money on our own in the so-called global financial centre. In particular, it is the fraternity, the mutual assistance among protestors that I cherished the most.

As more protestors are arrested, people offer help and assistance wholeheartedly -- we sit in court hearings even if we don’t know each other, and do frequent prison visits and write letters to protesters in detention. In major festivals and holidays, people gathered outside the prison to chant slogans so that they won’t feel alone and disconnected. This is the most touching part to me for I also experienced life in jail.

The cohesion, the connection and bonding among protestors are the cornerstone to the movement. At the same time, these virtues gave so much empowerment to the mass public who might not be able to fight bravely in the escalating protests. These scenes are not able to be captured by cameras, but I’m sure it is some of the most important parts of Hong Kong’s movement that I hope the world will remember.

I believe this mutual support transcends nationality or territory because the value of freedom does not alter in different places. More recently, Twelve Hongkong activists, all involved in the movement last year, were kidnapped by China’s coastal guard when fleeing to Taiwan for political refugee in late-August. All of them are now detained secretly in China, with the youngest aged only 16. We suspect they are under torture during detention and we call for help on the international level, putting up #SAVE12 campaign on twitter. In fact, how surprising it is to see people all over the world standing with the dozen detained protestors for the same cause. I’m moved by activists in Italy, who barely knew these Hong Kong activists, even took part in a hunger strike last month calling for immediate release of them. This form of interconnectivity keeps us in spirit and to continue our struggle to freedom and democracy.

Understanding Value of freedom in the university battle
A year ago on this day, Hong Kong was embroiled in burning clashes as the police besieged the Polytechnic University. It was a day we will not forget and this wound is still bleeding in the hearts of many Hong Kongers. A journalist stationed in the university at that time once told me that being at the scene could only remind him of the Tiananmen Square Massacre 31 years ago in Beijing. There was basically no exit except going for the dangerous sewage drains.

That day, thousands of people, old or young, flocked to districts close to the university before dawn, trying to rescue protestors trapped inside the campus. The reinforcements faced grave danger too, for police raided every corner of the small streets and alleys, arresting a lot of them. Among the 800+ arrested on a single day, 213 people were charged with rioting. For sure these people know there will be repercussions. It is the conscience driving them to take to the streets regardless of the danger, the conscience that we should stand up to brutality and authoritarianism, and ultimately to fight for freedoms that are guaranteed in our constitution. As my dear friend, Brian Leung once said, ‘’Hong Kong Belongs to Everyone Who Shares Its Pain’’. I believe the value of freedom is exemplified through our compassion to whom we love, so much that we are willing to sacrifice the freedom of our own.

Defending freedom behind the bars

No doubt there is a terrible price to pay in standing up to the Beijing and Hong Kong government. But after serving a few brief jail sentences and facing the continuing threat of harassment, I learnt to cherish the freedom I have for now, and I shall devote every bit what I have to strive for the freedom of those who have been ruthlessly denied.

The three episodes I shared with you today -- the courtroom, visiting prisoners and the battle of university continue to remind me of the fact that the fight for freedom has not ended yet. In the coming months, I will be facing a maximum of 5 years in jail for unauthorized assembly and up to one ridiculous year for wearing a mask in protest. But prison bars would never stop me from activism and thinking critically.

I only wish that during my absence, you can continue to stand with the people of Hong Kong, by following closely to the development, no matter the ill-fated election, the large-scale arrest under National Security Law or the twelve activists in China. To defy the greatest human rights abusers is the essential way to restore democracy of our generation, and the generation following us.

．．．．．．．．．．．．．．．．．
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#taiwancanhelp #colourhasnogender

傍晚接獲出版社傳來開心消息
我的最新著作
#未來總統學-解構魅力領袖品牌策略
(英 : Presidential Roads and Beyond)

因為彰顯了台灣自由而且多元的價值
被北美一位華裔企業家下訂了100本
要送給他Fraternity的夥伴們

100雖然不是什麼大數目
但是就在Taiwan can help的這個moment
我還是忍不住地紅了眼睛🥺

在2020大選前
在媒體業前輩與出版業好友的聯合鼓勵下
這本書因此誕生
花費了我多少精神與心力甚至壓力
可能身邊再好的朋友都很難想像

其實我最終想傳達的理念
真的是用這幾個關鍵詞就可以概括
#包容 #尊重 #多元 #自由 #學習

我很想特別分享的是：
領導人們自然都是powerful的
但如果他們也有溫柔凝望星空的那一面
這個世界一定會更不一樣的

🤖任意門在這裡🦊
✅博客來 https://pse.is/LXXTD
✅誠品 https://pse.is/HFTC4
✅金石堂 https://pse.is/L76GF

🤖 紙張過敏的朋友的選擇XD🦊
✅ Readmoo中文版電子書 https://reurl.cc/9EVnDn

I'm letting you know…..
#元首級的演講技巧
#國王級的形象哲學
#首相級的魅力養成術
#總統級的個人品牌打造
#許復

學到好多～
以下的美式流行語，你知道幾個？
（我把新學到的打個勾）

1. Greek life ✅
2. Be there or be square ✅
3. Swipe left
4. Shade ✅
5. extra
6. salty
7. knock on wood
8. sketchy
9. spill the tea ✅
10. RIP（戲謔用法）✅

很忙的話往下直接看我的整理和補充

1. Greek life 參加兄弟會/姊妹會
Are you involved in Greek life/culture?
因為這些組織名稱都用希臘字母sigma, epsilon等等，統稱 Greek Organization
兄弟會 fraternity 簡稱 frat
姊妹會 sorority 簡稱 sor

2. Be there or be square 不見不散
You’ll be square because you’re not around

3. Swipe left 不喜歡
交友軟體中，不喜歡就往左滑，喜歡就往右滑
有些人沿用到生活中，用來表達好惡

4. Shade 暗罵；偷婊；不夠意思的行為
情境一
A: They went to the club and ain't even invite us!
B: Shade!

情境二
My man been throwing me shade because I haven't been around as much.

5. extra 浮誇
當形容詞用

6. salty 不爽
也是形容詞

7. knock on wood 希望好運；呸呸呸
講完好事也可以敲，希望不要被破壞
講完壞事也可以敲，像是呸呸呸一樣

8. sketchy 詭異可疑
形容詞

9. spill the tea 講八卦
What’s the tea? 有什麼新的料？

10. RIP（戲謔用法）我死定了；祝我安息
用法跟中文語境的「GG了」一模一樣

完整版在阿滴的YouTube影片

#阿滴英文 新影片🎬 feat. @Serene Vitale
學校不教、考試不考，但是就是很道地的美式流行用語！再來一次阿滴vs滴妹搶答賽，讓你瞬間接美國地氣！

🗽 你會嗎? 一起來挑戰 ► goo.gl/mzZrFw