Editorial | Rights of gay people should be addressed in Hong Kong
- Rather than fighting one court battle after another over practices seen to be discriminatory, the Hong Kong government has to consider addressing the entitlements of the LGBT community
The High Court has found government policy of denying legally married same-sex couples the right to apply for public housing unlawful and unconstitutional. The decision follows two landmark cases in the top court.
In one of them a gay civil servant won the right to same-sex spousal benefits and joint taxation assessment. In the other, the Court of Final Appeal ruled immigration authorities must grant a lesbian expatriate a same-sex spousal visa.
These two decisions changed the legal landscape. As a result, it is now easier for discrimination cases, like the public housing one, to succeed.
The government is now facing the prospect of more such challenges and rulings against it.
In the latest case Mr Justice Anderson Chow Ka-ming allowed a judicial review mounted by permanent resident Nick Infinger over the Housing Authority’s decision to bar him and his husband from renting a public housing flat. He sent Infinger’s application back to the authority for reconsideration with priority.