Causeway Bay turns pink as Hong Kong gay rights campaigners hold flash mob

As far as Causeway Bay protests go, it may have been one of the shortest. But what it lacked in time, it made up for in colour.

About 40 protesters, most dressed in pink, appeared outside the Causeway Place Mall on Great George Street at 4pm yesterday to launch into a rendition of La Vie en Rose (Life in Pink).

Many danced, some chanted slogans, and others gave out leaflets, but onlookers who passed the mall just minutes later could be forgiven if they missed the whole thing.

The protest was a flash mob organised by the Big Love Alliance and the Pink Alliance to call for better acceptance of homosexuality, as well as to promote the Pink Dot campaign, which takes place in Hong Kong for the first time on June 15 at Tamar, Admiralty, and will feature concerts, stalls and magic shows.

"Not only do gay people need to come out, their families and friends also have to come out and show their support," said one of the organisers, Brian Leung.

A flash mob was a fun way to draw Hongkongers' attention to human rights, he said.

The event took place after recent controversies surrounding gay rights. Last month, the Justice Alliance accused the Boys' and Girls' Clubs Association of "brainwashing" children by offering counselling to young people struggling with their sexuality. Separately, Cardinal John Tong Hon, head of Hong Kong's Catholic church, said a law against discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation could infringe freedom of speech and religion.

"Why don't they speak up on topics like the June 4 crackdown and the July 1 march?" asked Leung. "Is that because we, the homosexuals, are easy targets?"

Another organiser, Billy Leung, said that previous campaigns had taught him that most of the public accepted homosexuality. "Those opposed to diversity are just a small group of people," he said.

Gary Hung, 26, who took part in the flash mob, said attacks on homosexuals made him "really sad". "I am not gay but I have no problems with people who are," he said.

"When I was in secondary school, I learned from some friends that some other schoolmates were gay. I told them that this was fine and I had no problems with it."

The Pink Dot campaign started in 2009 in Singapore.