E-mail campaign cites its opposition to anti-bias law
Would-be donors to a conservative Christian group's flag day appeal today are being asked by members of the gay community to think before they give.
Attention is being drawn in an e-mail chain letter to the recent campaign by the Society for Truth and Light against a law that would protect homosexuals from discrimination.
One gay man, who did not wish to be named because he is seeking a job and fears unfair discrimination, cited full-page advertisements in the Chinese-language media taken out by the society and its affiliates against the anti-discrimination law.
'The Society for Truth and Light represent neither truth nor enlightened thinking,' his e-mail says. 'They have implied that it is OK to discriminate against people based on sexual orientation in Hong Kong, and they are promoting intolerance and hatred within society.'
Contacted by the South China Morning Post, the man said his appeal was a personal one, driven by the belief that gays and lesbians, as productive members of society, 'should be free to love whom they love without other people telling them they are doing bad things'.
'The e-mail is to point people's attention to what this group is doing because frequently people offer you a sticker on flag day and you just give them $5 without thinking about where your money is going,' he said. 'Church groups are very organised and this one has mounted a concerted smear campaign against gays.'
