✍🏼 Finally Retired! 💛

我終於… 退！休！啦 ！💛

Gimme a million words and I won’t find the right ones to express my feelings on @alliancecanhk dissolution today 💛

I don’t want to be mushy, but I love this group of amazing nerds. It was an honour to be your executive director 🥹

呢3年用盡全心全力去推廣加拿大五大訴求
毫無后悔可以全身退出呢個所謂嘅「香港社運領袖」嘅位置 🙆🏻‍♀️
從來都冇諗過會上位被當做一個 Hong Kong community leader
只是時勢所迫，去搞ACHK同游說工作
又串又強勢，直話直說嘅態度好似激怒咗香港社運圈子嘅人 🙊
嗯 只因從來都冇諗過要迫自己去融入呢啲小圈子 🤷🏻‍♀️
老實講，如果 demand accountability 被當成人身攻擊，我都冇話可說 🙈。

冇ACHK，我只是一個平凡嘅港女 👧🏻

ACHK formally announced its dissolution today, marking my official retirement as executive director of Alliance Canada Hong Kong.

It has been an immense honour and privilege to serve as a Hongkonger community leader through my work in ACHK. I retired from "leadership" with few regrets.

I am thankful for the incredibly intelligent, committed, and passionate community members. I am forever appreciative to the ACHK fam/volunteers, partners, allies, community organizers & elders who joined us in this journey.

ACHK was drive by a democratic mandate and a holistic vision to advocacy. We fought hard.

ACHK is success for a perfect mix of advocacy and activism, tying together local organizers and community members to a coordinated national campaign. I dare say it has been a steep learning curve.

Publishing various groundbreaking research reports with national & international recognition. Becoming a multidisciplinary expert in immigration, public safety, foreign policy, and research security.

Ain't half bad eh? All this for an unfunded & unstaffed org. What? Like it's hard?

The future of Hong Kong is equitable.

It must begin with equitable developments within our community spaces. ACHK was born out of a radically inclusive vision, in acknowledgement of various intersecting forms of marginalization. Lateral violence from community actors, these exclusionary practices built atop of ageism, racism, queerophobia, elitism and white supremacy.

A space for queers, youths, feminists, progressives, and the 'radicals' to bring their full selves to the table.

I hope that my leadership is distinguished as one that prioritized safety and solidarity. Obvi I cannot say whether volunteers felt they were well supported, please tell me if I failed you! 💛

I also understand how our voices influenced the public discourse - positively and negativity.

Knowing that our advocacy has impact on other marginalized and vulnerable communities, endless equity work are embedded deeply into advocacy campaigns and relationship building:

• Crafting advocacy campaigns that does not invoke Sinophobia or Red Scare narratives;
• Developing innovative policies that address community safety & needs without calling for more policing;
• Empowering community voices that may have less public attention.

How do we stand firm on community interests & equity principles while making space to educate and critique those around us?

I learned that values are immovable while other lines may be blurred. Choosing how to participate and choosing not to participate is the decisions that defines your principles and values:

• to reject partisan and harmful rhetorics;
• to challenge reproduction of diaspora's pain stories & one-dimensional victimhood;
• to refuse virtual signalling;
• to make space for the uncomfortable truths.

Exercising the act of refusal is a decision that demands looking beyond immediate benefits and consider the deeper implication of our participation in politics and media.

My favourite part of this (unpaid) job had been on the hidden side: hosting workshops and trainings with community members. I am so proud to see so many trainees evolve into skillful advocates.

Hongkongers don't need an organization or a formal title to push forward community agendas. Just pick up the phone, write an email, ask for a meeting with your elected official! Diasporic grassroots communities have always held the power for social and political change. Wield it.

Advocacy is our shared responsibility.

ACHK had always taken priority in my life, there simply wasn't enough time for anything else. I am selfishly relieved, to no longer carry an official leadership role within the Hongkonger community.

There are no plans in my immediate future, just thesis-writing. I am content to be me again.

One of my old undergrad profs called me a "political animal" and he is absolutely correct. I AM! Now with sharper instincts, new skills, deeper expertise, and definitely sharper claws.

In solidarity, C 💛