Teachers have always said my only strength is talking and that I talk very fast.

As I reflect on the successes and failures of our push for democracy, reading widely in search for a path out of authoritarian rule, I'll keep writing to encourage myself and those on my side.

I'm truly convinced that by living up to the values we stand for, we can serve as a moral inspiration for others, just as we've been morally inspired by those who came before us.

Countries often prioritise economic interests over human rights - hence all the kowtowing to China.

Adversity will only sharpen our wits and make us more strong-willed, resulting in the political awakening of more Hong Kongers, not to mention the international community's support.

Our bodies are held captive, but our pursuit of freedom cannot be contained.

Being cut off from the outside world is scary.

I have never criticised the Thai government. I was only invited there to share my experiences of being a young man who took part in the umbrella movement. And this led to me being detained as soon as I stepped off the plane and being treated in a way that goes completely against human rights and the law.

I am absolutely certain that my unlawful detention by the Thai authorities was motivated by their fear of youth movements around the world.

I think even pro-China legislators would not believe I'm really a CIA agent.

My phone and email have been hacked, I've been arrested by the police and followed by the pro-China people or the photographers from the pro-China newspapers.

I have the responsibility to tell everybody that I am not the only political prisoner in Hong Kong and that there will be more coming.

I think Hong Kong people's struggle for democracy is similar to David versus Goliath. But this struggle is not just about me.

I believe elitism in politics is over, and a new path to achieving democracy should be charted by young people who have the most at stake in the future of our city.

Having grown up under Chinese rule, I don't have any memory of colonial Hong Kong or feel any attachment to it.

I do not lead the Hong Kong protests, because no one person leads the protests.

The police force has repeatedly demonstrated an inability and unwillingness to carry out its fundamental mandate: to serve and protect the people of Hong Kong. It has been reduced to a mere instrument of repression subservient to the political agenda of Beijing's regime in Hong Kong.

Even if the CCP is willing to stick with 'one country, two systems' in principle, no one can say for certain whether Hong Kong's freedoms of speech and the press would survive in reality.

We should, through civic referendums, determine our own pathways and political status after 2047, because in this lies the future of our democratic movement. If Hong Kong could exercise democratic self-governance under the sovereignty of China, it would not be necessary for us to take this step on the path toward independence.

Beijing's imperial reach extends far and wide, from Taiwan and Xinjiang to the South China Sea and beyond.

China is dead set on making Hong Kong more like it.

In December 2014, during the final days of the Umbrella Movement, prominent signs proclaiming We'll Be Back sprang up along Harcourt Road, one of the three major thruways occupied by peaceful pro-democracy protesters for nearly three months.

We long to have a home where civil freedoms are respected, where our children will not be subject to mass surveillance, abuse of human rights, political censorship and mass incarceration. We stand with all the free peoples of the world and hope you stand with us in our quest for justice and freedom.

I love the sense of belonging in Hong Kong. I love that it is such an international city. I love our food and our language. The people are energetic and passionate. I just really love this city.