Help transgender people in Hong Kong, but with counselling and facilities, not new laws, Christian group leader says
Society for Truth and Light head says it is ‘ridiculous to force’ people to recognise another gender in those who have not received surgery
Since June, a public consultation has been under way over the issue of legal recognition for transgender people in Hong Kong. The consultation, which runs until the end of December, was sparked by a 2013 case in which the top court granted a transgender woman the right to wed her boyfriend.
Suen said: “This is an issue about laws because [transgender] people are struggling with a lot of problems. One of these is the fact that their gender statuses on their ID cards are different.”
Currently, the government issues new identity cards for transgender people if they have received surgery to remove their genitals and construct organs according to their new gender.
Leung said the requirement was unfair as the gender reassignment surgeries could be risky, especially for female-to-male conversions, which may require multiple procedures. The risks are also higher for older people.