Opinion | Three lessons Hong Kong can learn from Taiwan’s LGBT journey

Taiwan showed that the government can take an active role in shaping consensus, that legislators can speak up for their LGBT constituents and that there is nothing anti-Asian about diversity

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This Cathay Pacific Airways advertisement highlighting its attitude to diversity, was initially banned by the Hong Kong Airport Authority and MTR Corporation. The ban was later reversed following a huge LGBT outcry. Photo: Handout

Published: 2:00pm, 22 May 2019Updated: 5:59pm, 22 May 2019

Last Friday, Taiwan legalised same-sex marriage. This was a landmark moment for LGBT rights in Taiwan and Asia. After decades of struggle and back-and-forth battles in the legislative and judiciary branches, Taiwan finally came to the consensus that there is no reason for marriage to be confined to a man and a woman; that a same-sex couple need not be marked as different from or inferior to their heterosexual counterparts.

There is much that Hong Kong can learn from Taiwan. In particular, three features stand out: the government’s proactive role in stimulating and guiding societal discussions; legislators’ display of empathy for and appreciation of the concerns of LGBT constituents, and; the fact that there is nothing anti-Asian about LGBT rights.

First, the Taiwanese government – especially under the current administration – has played a critical role in promulgating facts to dispel bigoted assumptions in social discourse. Take the misconception that homosexual relationships are likely to result in HIV: the administration extensively campaigned, and coordinated with the vibrant LGBT scene and businesses, to educate the public. Social and mass media openly report and critique abuse.

In stark contrast, the Hong Kong government is fixated on attaining a social consensus before pushing forward any substantive advances for LGBT rights. But no consensus can come about if the dominant official attitude is one of defeatism, and if no one bothers to initiate the process of building a consensus.

Consensus-seeking requires information, public debates and joint efforts by government and activists alike. Let us not pretend that a consensus will come about while we sit idly by — especially given the powerful anti-LGBT blocs in the city.