Freedom: How We Lose It and How We Fight Back

by Nathan Law, Evan Fowler Narrated by Daniel York Loh

Overview

A timely manifesto on freedom from Hong Kong's leading pro-democracy activist, Nathan Law, a Nobel Prize nominee

In this dispatch from exile, Hong Kong political activist Nathan Law explores the meaning of freedom-and shows how easily freedoms can be eroded or dismantled. Freedom is fragile-it is not a given, and each generation must fight to protect it, whether in emerging democracies or in the Western world, where freedom is too often taken for granted.

Law sets out to prove the value of what we take to be inherently bestowed upon us as human beings, and to expose the Chinese government as it barricades its citizens from enjoying freedom. He lays out how the government controls what people know and are allowed to think, suppresses the truth, and undermines democratic processes by censoring its own members. If freedom is a basic human right, then why were lawyers, journalists, and activists being jailed, and why has Nathan Law been labeled a wanted fugitive?

Rooted in his own experience as a former elected official and student leader of the Umbrella Movement, Law explores not just how important freedom is in principle for human beings to thrive, but how it is put into practice. What does it mean to be able to speak freely, and what happens when the concept collapses? How can the law both protect and abolish our freedoms? And why should we place such importance on free and fair elections? What does it mean to be truly free? Nathan Law has worked tirelessly to apply pressure in order to reshape freedom in Hong Kong, because it is with freedom that we'll live as we're meant to be.

Editorial Reviews

Jon Snow

"Nathan Law’s agonizing account of China’s ruthless takeover of Hong Kong provides a terrible insight into Beijing’s ambitions—the world needs to read this before other Pacific entities are swallowed up."

Financial Times

"A heartfelt primer . . . the moderate and thoughtful Law is nothing like the radical agitator of Beijing’s imagination."

Speaker Nancy Pelosi

"An essential and timely read, warning policymakers, advocates and all people of the erosion to freedom happening before our eyes and equipping us to combat this challenge."

TIME Magazine

"2021 Foreword INDIES Gold Winner
Shortlisted for the Parliamentary Book Award Best Political Book

"We must all continue to speak up and stand up for Nathan Law and for those who fight for freedom in Hong Kong."

Foreign Policy

"Law’s most significant personal act of political freedom may be the publication of the book itself. . . . [It] serves as a record of what his generation stood for—and what has happened to the people of Hong Kong—no matter which substitute version of history Beijing promulgates. . . . Freedom is a compelling read and an earnest reminder that those who live in democracies must remain active citizens to safeguard their own freedoms."

The New York Times

"The dismantling of Hong Kong has long been one of the most painful disasters in East Asia. . . . ‘How did Asia’s most liberal, open and cosmopolitan city . . . change so fundamentally?’ the activist Law asks in this philosophical memoir."

Axios

"In Freedom, Law describes how Beijing was able to subvert Hong Kong’s traditional freedoms and how the CCP uses doublespeak to rob democratic values and institutions of their true meaning."

New Statesman

"With democratic ideals such as press freedom and the rule of law being increasingly eroded in nations including Hungary, Brazil and Turkey—and with election results still being called into question in the US—Law offers a warning and a wake-up call."

From the Publisher

2021 Foreword INDIES Gold Winner
Shortlisted for the Parliamentary Book Award Best Political Book

“We must all continue to speak up and stand up for Nathan Law and for those who fight for freedom in Hong Kong.”—TIME magazine, “The 100 Most Influential People of 2020”

“The dismantling of Hong Kong has long been one of the most painful disasters in East Asia. . . . ‘How did Asia’s most liberal, open and cosmopolitan city […] change so fundamentally?’ the activist Law asks in this philosophical memoir.”—The New York Times

“A heartfelt primer . . . the moderate and thoughtful Law is nothing like the radical agitator of Beijing’s imagination.”—Financial Times

“Law’s most significant personal act of political freedom may be the publication of the book itself. . . . [It] serves as a record of what his generation stood for—and what has happened to the people of Hong Kong—no matter which substitute version of history Beijing promulgates. . . . Freedom is a compelling read and an earnest reminder that those who live in democracies must remain active citizens to safeguard their own freedoms.”—Foreign Policy

“In Freedom, Law describes how Beijing was able to subvert Hong Kong's traditional freedoms and how the CCP uses doublespeak to rob democratic values and institutions of their true meaning.”—Axios

“With democratic ideals such as press freedom and the rule of law being increasingly eroded in nations including Hungary, Brazil and Turkey – and with election results still being called into question in the US – Law offers a warning and a wake-up call.”—New Statesman

“An essential and timely read, warning policymakers, advocates and all people of the erosion to freedom happening before our eyes and equipping us to combat this challenge.”—Speaker Nancy Pelosi

“Nathan Law’s agonizing account of China’s ruthless takeover of Hong Kong provides a terrible insight into Beijing’s ambitions—the world needs to read this before other Pacific entities are swallowed up.”—Jon Snow, journalist 

DECEMBER 2021 - AudioFile

British narrator Daniel Loh eloquently captures the sense of loss and frustration in this cri de coeur from former Hong Kong student activist and legislator Nathan Law. Loh’s well-modulated performance strikes the right balance between outraged indictment and the lasting feelings of loss of the now London-based leader. Hong Kong, while never free, was democratically run, open, and vibrant. The authoritarian rule of the Chinese has quashed democracy. This work is part anti-Chinese Communist Party (CCP) screed, part paean to democracy, and part nostalgic remembrance of the author’s pre-CCP life. Law has suffered for his apostasy. He led marches and was elected to public office as a critic of the new regime. He will more than likely never return home again. A.D.M. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940175398329
Publisher:	Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Publication date:	12/07/2021
Edition description:	Unabridged

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