I have experienced threats. Not just to me, but to my family.

Will Beijing really send out the army to suppress our protests? Never say never.

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.

Some people say that given the government's firm stance against genuine universal suffrage, our demands are impossible to achieve. But I believe activism is about making the impossible possible.

We do not want to see a Hong Kong that enjoys freedoms on paper but whose autonomous status conceals the workings of a totalitarian state.

Beyond the barricades we long to see a Hong Kong free from tyranny and a puppet government.

I'm convinced democracy will grow from the ground up, from the community.

We do not want to see a Hong Kong that enjoys freedoms on paper, but whose autonomous status conceals the workings of a totalitarian state beneath.

Our city finds itself in an uncomfortable place: on the frontline between freedom and auto_cracy.

The fight for democracy relies on community support.

Back in 2014, my fellow Hong Kongers and I hoped to use nonviolent means to fight for our territory's democratic system - a simple right, promised by Beijing, to choose our own leader.

During the Umbrella Movement, the police force wasn't in control, and the police ignored the law and tried to use extreme force to hurt people.

The Lantos Human Rights Prize is intended to serve as a beacon of hope, justice and human decency in a world too often covered in a shroud of darkness.

Sometimes it feels as if I major in activism and minor in university.

Being an activist is not easy.

Detention cells in Hong Kong are not pleasant. In Thailand they are even worse. In Hong Kong you are at least allowed to see your lawyers.

I have been fighting for democracy since I was 15 when I organised a strike to oppose the Hong Kong government's plan to introduce the Chinese patriotic school education; 100,000 people surrounded a government building with students asking for democracy for every citizen.

I am a pro-democracy activist asking for free elections in Hong Kong.

Carrie Lam is a proxy leader.The final decision-maker is President Xi.

You don't need role models to be part of a social movement as long as you care about the issues.

In 2011, when I established the activist group Scholarism, I could have not imagined that a year later, 100,000 people would take to the street and occupy for a week to urge the government to withdraw the national education curriculum.

The education system of Hong Kong has often been slammed for marginalising a lot of people.

Hong Kong has always been a symbol of the vibrant and free exchange of cultures, commerce and ideas. This reputation is threatened, however, in the face of China's efforts to increase its authoritarian control within its sphere of influence.

Hong Kong people do not keep silent and I urge people around the world to keep their eyes on Hong Kong and the passion with which people are fighting for basic rights. We never give up and we will not be silenced.