Several prominent Chinese men continue their fight for freedom and liberty for themselves and their country this week, despite the threat of imprisonment.

A Chinese dissident’s pregnant wife arrived in California this week with her 4-year-old son. They will live in the United States as refugees. Her husband, Zhao Changqing, is a political activist in China.

“My husband is a political activist and fights for freedom and democracy, which puts him in the position of being the enemy of a totalitarian state,” Liu Xiaodong told The Associated Press. “We have seen that the government is likely to use the family as a hostage against activists like my husband. That’s why we left and will be safe here.”

Zhao became a defender of democracy and human rights in 1989 during the Tiananmen Students Movement. He was a student leader and has been imprisoned five times in 27 years, according to ABC News. He was released last week and is under heavy surveillance in China, where he is having a hard time finding a permanent home, according to his wife. Zhao plans to remain in China and continue his work there.

Zhao was put into solitary confinement in 2005 for his refusal to take part in a flag-raising ceremony or sing the national anthem, and later for refusing to participate in military drills. In 2014, he was imprisoned for two and a half years for planning protests.

Other students fighting for democracy were Joshua Wong and Alex Chow, who were found guilty of unlawful assembly Thursday. The men led a pro-democracy movement and the “Occupy Central” protests in 2014. The 79-day protest brought over a million Hong Kong residents into streets, decrying the Chinese Communist Party and demanding democratic freedoms. Many of those protesting were Hong Kong’s youth.

Wong, 19, faces up to two years in prison. He and Nathan Law are leaders of Demosisto, a new political party. According to the BBC, if the two are imprisoned, “this could well end their hopes of taking part in elections to the Hong Kong legislature in September.” Wong, Chow and Law will receive their sentences on August 15.

Zhao, a 47-year-old, has been imprisoned numerous times and is still unrelenting. Though his family has come to the U.S. for safety, he remains dedicated to fighting for human rights and freedoms in China. Wong, less than half his age, is experiencing retribution for the first time for his protests on the same issues. Zhao’s life presents a picture of continuously fighting, despite being in and out of solitary confinement and prison.

Instead of making the next generation timid and unwilling to speak out, dissidents like Zhao seem to have the opposite effect. Wong, Chow and Law, as well as the thousands of young people joining them in protests, are continuing to further the vision of Zhao and others who dream of democratic liberties. Though they have the examples of those who have faced severe consequences, young people are not disheartened. Wong is a testament that there remain passionate, steadfast young people who continue to rise and refuse to be silenced.