Hong Kong may brand itself as Asia's world city, on an equal footing with London and New York, but scratch the surface a bit deeper and you will soon find a chasm of difference in the attitude towards gays and lesbians.
Although there is now greater awareness and tolerance of homosexuality, thanks to increased education, more publicity and legislation of same-sex marriages in countries such as Canada, the Netherlands and South Africa, most of the gay community in Hong Kong still live in the shadows.
Many homosexuals here believe research carried out by American professor Alfred Kinsey about 40 years ago, concluding that roughly 10 per cent of any population are either gay or have gay inclinations, remains fairly accurate. But it is virtually impossible to tally the population in Hong Kong because the great majority have chosen to stay in the closet.
Gays and lesbians have an entrenched fear of ending up as social pariahs even among friends and family. Angel, a lesbian in her mid-thirties, says discrimination has been an everyday issue ever since she first came out to her friends - with one close friend deciding to terminate their friendship soon after.
Things weren't much better at work, either. Her boss one day called her in for a meeting to discuss her sexual orientation. 'He kept asking me whether I was a lesbian. Of course, I flat out denied it. I was so afraid of losing my job,' she says. Even buying a flat with her girlfriend proved to be an ordeal with the seller adamant on finding out the nature of their relationship before the sale.
The absence of any legislation to protect people of different sexual orientation from discrimination further fuels ignorance in society and paves the way for more prejudice, explains Sam Winter, associate professor specialising in sexual and gender minorities at Hong Kong University's Faculty of Education.
'The community will be educated when more people are prepared to come out; sons and daughters, nieces and nephews, grandsons and granddaughters,' he says.