Blogger Jason Y. Ng has a knack for making the familiar both fascinating and funny. This collection of 36 essays examines some of the pressing social issues facing Hong Kong. It takes us from the gravity-defying property market to the plunging depths of old age poverty, from urban streets to beckoning islands, from the culture-shocked expat to the misunderstood Mainland Chinese and the disenfranchised domestic worker. The result is thought-provoking, touching and immensely entertaining.

At what point do you stand up to power?

When he was 14, Joshua Wong made history. While the adults stayed silent, Joshua staged the first ever student protest in Hong Kong to oppose National Education – and won.

Since then, Joshua has led the Umbrella Movement, founded a political party, and rallied the international community around the anti-Extradition Bill protests, which have seen 2 million people – more than a quarter of the population – take to Hong Kong’s streets. His actions have sparked worldwide attention, earned him a Nobel Peace Prize nomination, and landed him in jail twice.

Composed in three parts, Unfree Speech chronicles Joshua’s path to activism, collects the letters he wrote as a political prisoner, and closes with a powerful and urgent call for all of us globally to defend our democratic values.

When we stay silent, no one is safe. When we free our speech, our voice becomes one.