In Struggling for Democracy in Hong Kong: My Story, Cheng leads the reader on a journey across Hong Kong history from 1949 to 2020. Through his eyes, the fight for democracy in a country torn apart by colonization, was grueling, rewarding, and spanned decades upon decades of eloquently executed tête-à-têtes.

Joseph Cheng is the very essence of what it means to be a proud Hong Kong citizen. He is a well-recognized political scientist and educator and an international media commentator on political developments in China and Hong Kong. Born and raised in the territory, Cheng pours his love for his birth land into a concise and sharply written memoir.

In this detailed memoir, the reader vicariously experiences what it takes to bring Western ideology to the East and how Hong Kong people came together to rally for human rights. Supported by vigorous analyses and research, Cheng's memoir brings Hong Kong's democratic reforms to life as he tells of the attempts, successes and failures of pan-democrats, as well as his personal struggles and fight against a prolonged smear campaign.