I'm struggling to write about this, but I must speak about the white privilege and appropriation related to this incident. It's not about the photo; I personally offered the below evidence to refute Grayzone's inaccuracy, and the doxxing is reprehensible. But I do feel misled. 1/ https://twitter.com/HongKongHermit/status/1292314568698413057

One of my principles as a white person in HK is to use that privilege to amplify voices of those most affected and perhaps less heard bc of the societal injustices, particularly on English-language Twitter. If I had known, I'm not sure if my actions would have changed... 2/

...but I deserved to know. It's about different levels of credibility: white voices are, by nature of systemic injustice, often seen as more authoritative, neutral, or reliable, whereas non-white voices are often more directly affected and hold a different type of credibility. 3/

I thought I was listening to someone with certain lived experiences, causing me to not be able to fully evaluate how I carried out my own principle of which voices I listen to, when, why, and for what purposes. Basically, it's a matter of undisclosed privilege. 4/

It's not my position that diverse voices should not speak or be amplified. It's not my position that this person is not a HKer. It's that we have a duty to disclose our privileges and not potentially appropriate the situations of others who are dissimilarly affected. 5/

Should I have known or done more research about their identity? (aka, Is it my fault I was misled?) I don't think so. It is a situation of intentional ambiguity, if not purposeful misleading. The audience deserves to know what type of voice is speaking. 6/

Of course, this is not about pen names and anonymity, or Chinese names (I have one). I always knew the photo was of Tiananmen victim Duan Changlong; I just thought that the Chinese persona was not run by a white person, and why would I question that, as appropriation is wrong! 7/

The work of this individual is impressive, and I still have a high level of respect for the work, the commitment, and indeed the person behind the persona. Thank you to @HongKongHermit for not letting Grayzone's accusations stand and challenging views on who can be a HKer. 8/

This is a terrible situation of doxxing and smearing the HK movement. I do not agree with Grayzone's conclusions and assertions. I only hope my view here adds to the discussion on power, privilege, and platforms in Hong Kong. /end