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LGBT activists in Hong Kong form a human chain around a rainbow flag during celebrations marking the fourth annual International Day Against Homophobia, in May 2008. The event was launched in 2005 to commemorate the day in 1990 when the World Health Organization removed homosexuality from its list of mental disorders. Photo: AFP
OpinionLetters

Letters | LGBT rights in Hong Kong: if tradition justified discrimination, where would that leave women?

  • Although Hong Kong is seen as a free international city, our laws and culture on LGBT issues are much more backward than some less developed societies
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Recently, Hong Kong’s High Court delivered rulings on two cases concerned with LGBT rights. One refused to recognise gay marriages performed overseas while another was successful in seeking equal inheritance rights for partners in same-sex marriages.

In my opinion, our society should be more aware of the rights of the LGBT community. Although Hong Kong is always seen as a free international city, our laws and culture on LGBT issues are much more backward than some less developed societies. Many Hongkongers still think of love and marriage as limited to heterosexual couples. Some say that they don’t oppose homosexuality, but refuse to accept that their children could be gay, pretending they are open-minded when in fact they are quite conservative.

Our society prefers to ignore the LGBT community and their rights, while dismissing the more pro-gay younger generation as being heavily influenced by LGBT culture. Many middle-aged and elderly people want to avoid talking about LGBT issues, but avoidance is not the solution. Even if minorities are not accepted by society, they still exist, they can’t be wished away.

Support for laws against LGBT discrimination is rising, survey finds

As a human rights lawyer put it, lawyers cannot rewrite the law, they can only strike down issues that discriminate against the LGBT community. In 2018, a motion raised in the Legislative Council by lawmaker Ray Chan Chi-chuen in 2018 urging the government to study the possibility of civil unions for same-sex couples was voted down.
Even in jurisdictions that see homosexual intercourse as illegal, LGBT groups still exist, some pretending to be heterosexual while others are actively fighting for their rights. They live in different ways, but what they have in common is that they live in pain, because they don’t enjoy the basic human rights enjoyed by most people.

07:43

The fear of persecution grips Indonesia’s LGBTQ community

The fear of persecution grips Indonesia’s LGBTQ community
Some say we are asking for too much, and that the LGBT community is breaking tradition. But are women asking for too much when they want to live independently, free of patriarchy or male chauvinism? Are the black people asking too much when they want to live freely without white supremacy?

How Hong Kong believes in equality, except on LGBT rights

Our traditions have always included exploitation and discrimination towards disadvantaged groups. Nothing in the world is perfect; all of the existing traditions, laws, cultures, and systems have areas that can be improved. Tradition should not be an excuse for us to ignore reasonable demands from any group in society.

Christine Tsui, Shek Lei

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