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Dr York Chow Yat-ngok, 68, head of the Equal Opportunities Commision (EOC), said the watchdog had no power or mandate to propose a same-sex marriage law. Photo: Felix Wong

Divided Hong Kong won’t pass gay marriage law ‘in my lifetime’, says equality watchdog chief

Lai Ying-kit

The head of Hong Kong’s equality watchdog cast doubt on the prospect of Hong Kong adopting a same-sex marriage law, saying this would likely not happen in his lifetime because the city remained divided on the issue.

Dr York Chow Yat-ngok, 68, head of the Equal Opportunities Commision (EOC), said the watchdog had no power or mandate to propose such a law.

Chow was commenting today during a Commercial Radio talk show about the impact of the US Supreme Court’s landmark decision last week to legalise same-sex marriage nationwide and to deem it a fundamental right.
The US ruling, decided by a 5-4 vote by Supreme Court justices, was hailed as a hard-won victory for LGBT rights, coming after decades of litigation and lobbying by gay rights activists.

Asked if he thought Hong Kong would adopt the same attitude in his lifetime, Chow laughed and said: “I don’t know how long I will live. I am quite old now.”

WATCH: Chinese gay and lesbian couples wed in California

Chow said it was unlikely that Hong Kong would handle the gay marriage issue the same way as the United States. He described Hong Kong courts’ role as “passive” – only turning attention to the issue if a case is brought forward.

The chance of the Legislative Council passing such a law is also slim, Chow said, as reflected by the lack of support for a recent proposal to outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation.

“We can look at how legislators view equal rights for gays and lesbians – not to mention marriage,” he said. “How much is the support rate among legislators? I am not quite optimistic.

“I think some legislators may have different levels of understanding of the issue ... But one thing [that is] certain is that it will not [result in] majority support,” Chow said.

Hong Kong has anti-discrimination laws on gender, family status, disability and race, but not sexual orientation. These laws also do not specifically protect lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) people.

York, a former health secretary, and the EOC have been pushing for the past few years to strengthen legal protection of gays and other marginalised groups.

However, rival associations including the Family School Sexual Orientation Discrimination Ordinance Concern Group have opposed the idea of passing laws to protect gay rights, saying this would infringe upon their “freedom of speech” and encourage homosexuality.

Members of sexual minorities advocacy group Rainbow Action previously said they wanted to see a beefed-up anti-discrimination law in Hong Kong before the city took on same-sex marriage.

Chow said it would be a lengthy process to push ahead with gay rights. He said the Hong Kong community should start the conversation, in the hope of influencing voters’ and lawmakers’ views in the long term.

“I think more discussion will help the community gain a better understanding and they will eventually seek a more rational way to handle the issue [of LGBT rights],” he said.

The equalities commission chief also remained optimistic that the younger generation in Hong Kong would be more receptive to same-sex issues. Chow said many young people he had met “had a higher level of acceptance to same-sex marriage”.

With additional reporting from Staff Reporters

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