Thread by @samuelmchu

On this 33rd anniversary of the #VelvetRevolution - we reclaim our revolution, our democracy, our freedom, and our friends.

His Holiness @DalaiLama was the first foreign leader and friend President #Havel welcomed.

Mr. Havel didn't befriend him because of his military or economy. He befriended a leader who fled his home, who was not recognized by the world, and whose people faced annihilation.

President #Havel sought alliance and friendship with one who yearned to be free - who believed that truth and love must prevail over lies and hatred in the face of naked aggression and brutal repression.

#HongKongers need the same friendship from you - the Czech people - today.

I rode the train into #Prague this week. I started in #Leipzig inside the church where the Peaceful Revolution started and brought down the Berlin Wall in 1989.

But my journey began much longer and farther – in 1989 in Hong Kong.

In 1989 protesters gathered in Tiananmen Square in Beijing against the Chinese Communist government.

But unlike #VelvetRevolution, #Tiananmen ended on #June4th when the Chinese government ordered the army to clear the square with tanks and guns, killing thousands.

In May 1989, I marched with a million Hong Kongers to support #Tiananmen students. The massacre confirmed what we feared most - the character of the regime that would rule over us when the city was to be returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

Hong Kongers kept marching - propelled by the memory of those who died in Tiananmen and brave Czechs like you who overcame their totalitarian regimes.

After 1997, Beijing began to strip away the freedom and democracy promised.

But we kept marching - peacefully and without fear.

In 2014, Hong Kongers staged a mass civil disobedience demanding free elections that became known as the Umbrella Movement - there - we created our own #LennonWall - something we borrowed from you here in #Prague.

In 2019, 2 million Hong Kongers marched in a final stand against Beijing's attempt to impose an extradition law that would fundamentally destroy freedom in Hong Kong.

They were met repeatedly by the brutality and indifference of those in power.

Today, protests are banned. We might never see the images of Hong Kongers marching ever again.

Just two years ago, Hong Kong had a vibrant civil society, opposition political parties, and a free press.

Today, leaders of those institutions are all in jail or exile.

2 years ago, I spoke at a rally in Hong Kong a day after pro-democracy candidates won over 90% in local elections.

Today, I am a fugitive wanted by the Hong Kong and Chinese police under State Security Law, and hundreds of political prisoners languish in solidarity confinement.

Yet our aspirations and resolve for freedom and democracy have never been stronger.

Hong Kongers have not won yet - but we also have not lost.

What if history had unfolded differently in 1989?

How close did our people come to gaining or losing our freedom then?

And how close are we today?

We are closer to losing our freedom and democracy - and the peace they have afforded us for decades - than ever before.

That's what I want to remind us tonight:

Our freedom of speech is just noise if we don't use it to speak truth to power - against corruption, extremists, and regimes like #China, #Russia, and #Iran - simply because it has become too costly or too expensive.

Our freedom to protest is meaningless if we don't exercise it to condemn violence and extinguish war and if we become consumed only by the small grievances of our personal unhappiness while turning away from Iranians being tortured for exercising the same right.

Our right to vote - right to self-determination - something #Ukrainians are dying to preserve & #HongKongers are going to jail to achieve - is a pointless ritual if we don't hold our elected leaders accountable to act on our highest & best ideals as a dignified & freed people.

33 years ago, President Havel, in his first new year's address, said that "your government has returned to you."

What have we done with it? What have we done with that freedom?

Let's reclaim what began here and in Hong Kong 33 years ago.

Reclaim our government from only serving the interests of a few.

Reclaim our democracy from apathy, bigotry, and extremism.

Reclaim our freedom - not only from tyranny, but to create our collective future.

Let us claim each other as friends - Czechs & Hong Kongers, Ukrainians & Iranians - whose past and future are inextricably bound together.

Let us reclaim this square - let us again fill this place with truth, love, and music; let us triumph over lies and hatred. #FreeHongKong