[UPDATE 2] "What, then, is the point of Hong Kong fighting on? Dignity & self-respect... Years from now, historians will recall that at a time when the West had descended into identity solipsism, there was a place on earth where people cared more for liberty and their city than their lives." #QotD

"The myths of the obedient Hong Kong child, of the disciplined dronelike worker, of the person who puts money above everything else, are shattered for ever. But can Hong Kong people triumph over the Communist Party? Surely not and they know it. What, then, is the point of their fighting on? Dignity and self-respect. Bystanders are responsible for what they don’t do—in this case push back on a growing tyranny. Years from now, historians will recall that at a time when the West had descended into identity solipsism, there was a place on earth where people cared more for liberty and their city than their lives."
          ~ Peter Baehr, from his 'A Letter From Hong Kong'

UPDATE:

Comment from Michael Hurd:

The passion and conviction that Hong Kong citizens have shown against their Communist rulers has been truly inspiring. The phrase, “Give me liberty or give me death” TRULY means something in Hong Kong...
    Dictators are weak. They are weak against mass numbers of people who simply will not take it any more. But they are also weak when confronted with the idea, “My life does not belong to you. My life does not belong to my fellow citizens, just because you say so. My life belongs to ME. It’s the truth, whether you hold a gun to my head, or not.”
    The Chinese Communists [like most political power-lusters] are all emotional and physical abusers. Their alleged strength counts on us NOT grasping or naming that our lives belong to ourselves.
    The moment we assert our sovereignty over our own lives is the moment we become truly free..

UPDATE 2: The protestors respond:

“Five key demands, not one less.”

The .