Hong Kong must stop looking the other way about gay rights
A school making teachers sign a morality contract highlights the fact that Hong Kong refuses to get serious on LGBT issues. Let's hope it doesn't take a tragedy to get the city talking about the subject
What do singer Denise Ho Wan-sze, lawmaker Raymond Chan Chi-chuen and real-estate businesswoman Gigi Chao all have in common? They are all gay, and if they were teachers, they would not be allowed to work at International Christian School.
The Sha Tin school was slammed this month when it emerged that it requires its teachers to sign a morality contract that bans same-sex relationships, couples living together outside of marriage and adultery.
The contract goes against the Hong Kong government's employment guidelines, but is not illegal, highlighting the weak legal protections afforded to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Hong Kong.
The Equal Opportunities Commission wrote to the school and vowed to investigate, but has not received a response. The school has declined to comment throughout the backlash.
The controversy has highlighted a reticence by the Hong Kong government to act over gay rights.
In November 2012, the Legislative Council voted down a motion to consult the public over whether gay-rights legislation should be introduced. As recently as 1991, homosexuality among men was a crime with a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. It was never outlawed for women.