Pro-Democracy Movement Quotes

My generation, the so-called post-'90s generation that came of age after the territory was returned to China, would have the most to lose if Hong Kong were to become like just another mainland Chinese city, where information is not freely shared and the rule of law is ignored.

I'm optimistic Hong Kong will achieve universal suffrage - no matter the attitude of Beijing.

I've been calling for the support of the Syrian rebels for years.

In 1989, I was on Tiananmen Square with the students, living in their makeshift tents and joining their jubilant singing of the Internationale. In the two decades since, each time that I have gone back, visions from those days seem to return with increasing persistence.

In 1989, a lone and still-anonymous Chinese student stood unarmed in front of a Chinese tank and gave the world an enduring image of the determination of China's young to change their nation. He didn't text message the tank or share a video on YouTube.

In 1979, Iranians carried out an illegitimate act: They overthrew a tyrant that the United States had imposed and supported, and moved on an independent path, not following U.S. orders.

Carrie Lam is not the leader elected by people of Hong Kong.

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

I have some friends who were involved in the Tahrir Square uprising in Egypt.

Hungarian communists were the most talented. They convinced everybody that reforming the communist party was better than making a new party.

What we saw in Tiananmen Square 31 years ago was a massacre, a massacre of innocent people that came from Hong Kong but also Chinese people to protest.

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.

Tiananmen Square in early 1989 attracted many dreamers like Ma Jian, who returned from Hong Kong to a one-room shack in Beijing in order to join the student protests.

I hope those who previously only thought of Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee regarding Hong Kong would now realise that the city is also a place fighting for democracy.

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 was a college student in 1989 when I participated in the demonstration at Tiananmen Square. I was one of the organizers.

I think Tunisia has a specific place in the Arab world and in Africa because it is a tiny Muslim country, but it's very open minded. It's the first country to start the Arab Spring, for example.

Hong Kong's people will get what they want, despite China's objections. Freedom invariably wins in the end.

The anti-war movement should turn itself into a pro-democracy movement

Hong Kong has a reputation for freedom in spite of the People's Republic of China. It has a strong tradition of free speech.

But my friends, these people in Egypt have stood by us in a tough, tough neighborhood.

The appalling crackdown that we witnessed in Hama and other Syrian cities on 30 and 31 July only erode the regime's legitimacy and increase resentment. In the absence of an end to the senseless violence and a genuine process of political reform, we will continue to pursue further EU sanctions.

The Chinese leadership hoped that the world would soon forget the Tiananmen Square massacre. Our job in Congress is to ensure that we never forget those who lost their lives in Tiananmen Square that day or the pro-democracy cause for which they fought.

Tiananmen did not fail.

Unless there is meaningful change in Syria and an end to the crackdown, President Assad and those around him will find themselves isolated internationally and discredited within Syria.