Gay Games is Hong Kong’s chance to show the city’s inclusivity – will it recognise same-sex unions and legislate to protect LGBT rights?
Hong Kong is set to be the first Gay Games host city without legal recognition for same-sex unions; lawyers fighting for LGBT rights believe hosting the games will spur change, if for no other reason than that money talks
When Hong Kong hosts the Gay Games in 2022, it will be the first time the Olympic-style sporting event has been held in Asia since the Games’ 1982 inauguration in San Francisco. Same-sex unions are legally recognised in all the Games’ previous host cities. In Hong Kong they are not.
Hong Kong beat the United States’ capital city, Washington, and Guadalajara in Mexico to secure the Games – held every four years – even though those countries have far more comprehensive laws in place to protect LGBT rights. The choice has therefore drawn attention to the fight for gay rights and same-sex marriage in the Chinese special administrative region.
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Legalising gay marriage confers upon same-sex partners a number of entitlements available to heterosexual couples. In Hong Kong, such entitlements are the subject of ongoing court cases.
“The current system in Hong Kong is structured around everything to do with being married, and it being a heterosexual marriage,” says Peter Reading, legal counsel for the city’s Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC). “There are certain rights that you only get if you are married.”
Two cases in particular that challenge the status quo have garnered media attention.
The case of a British lesbian referred to as QT was heard in the Court of First Instance four years ago after she was denied a dependent visa to stay in the city with her same-sex spouse. Their civil partnership had been declared invalid by the Immigration Department and QT lost the case.