For all the fuss about Hong Kong being an international city, it remains deeply hostile to sexual minorities, including transgender individuals. According to a recent Chinese University survey , three out of four transgender people in the city have contemplated suicide. Hong Kong has a mixed record on trans rights. In 2013, the Court of Final Appeal ruled that trans individuals could marry as their new gender. On the other hand, in 2019, three trans individuals lost their bid to be recognised as men on their identity cards. Although the judge expressed sympathy for the applicants, he said a complete sex change operation was the only “workable way” to determine gender. However, let’s leave aside the arguments about transgender recognition for now. The government must introduce robust trans protection laws, for reasons that have little to do with “Western values” or sexual politics. First, it is about ensuring the bare minimum of mental well-being for transgender individuals – especially vulnerable youths who are coming to terms with their identities. One in 10 transgender people have been subjected to physical harm, according to the CUHK survey. Trans individuals not only walk the streets fearing for their safety, they also face ceaseless waves of derision and bigotry as they struggle to make their gender identities understood by a society that refuses to listen. Trans teens are regularly bullied at school – with counsellors ill-equipped to handle abuse from perpetrators who are themselves insecure and anxious about their sexual awakening. We can agree to disagree on whether trans identities exist – but what should not be controversial is the idea that all individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, deserve to be treated with decency and respect. What are ‘Asian values’ and is the concept still relevant today? Second, better protections for trans individuals allow gender-nonconforming individuals to feel more comfortable articulating and engaging with their identities. There is an argument that being transgender is merely a phase: this is an ill-informed and dangerous view. However, even if we accept this, teenagers and adults should be able to grapple with their sexual identities and how they truly feel about their bodies in a safe and managed way. A society with rampant transphobia and exclusion is not a safe space for much-needed conversations about identities. Even conservatives should endorse a society where citizens do not feel compelled to exercise self-censorship because they deviate from sexual norms. This is also true for high school, where students spend their most formative years. Hong Kong has no explicit legislation mandating the inclusion of transgender rights in school curriculums, which is a mistake. As the Canadian Centre for Suicide Prevention notes, policies addressing transphobia that are “supported from all levels of the school system are most effective as staff and students realise the policies have institutional-wide endorsement and are actively enforced”. Educating our future generations about gender diversity is not only vital from a pedagogical perspective, it also saves lives. Even if one has little time for the well-being or safety of transgender individuals, there is still a powerful economic argument to be made. As with most legislation aimed at addressing discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender and religion, trans protections are integral to restoring Hong Kong’s attractiveness to foreign talent and capital. Hong Kong remains a more progressive and open society than Singapore; but if this advantage is to be maintained, especially in light of the recent political turmoil, concrete action must be taken. Legislating to protect transgender rights in the workplace, public health care and education would pave the way for a more egalitarian and accepting Hong Kong – a city that is truly cosmopolitan. Brian YS Wong is a DPhil in Politics candidate at Balliol College, Oxford, a Rhodes Scholar (Hong Kong 2020) and the founding editor-in-chief of the Oxford Political Review