Don't let any more suffer like Leslie, gay icons urge
At the Big Love concert on Kowloon waterfront, stars joined by equal rights chief Dr York Chow call for legislation protecting sexual minorities
Celebrities and lawmakers celebrated "Big Love Day" at an outdoor concert yesterday, saying that a decade after the suicide of bisexual pop icon Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing, they do not want to see any more Hongkongers die because of society's prejudices.
Cheung had been suffering from depression and attacks against his sexuality when he took his life on April 1 10 years ago. Around the world, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transexual (LGBT) people have some of the highest rates of suicide attempts of the general population.
Gigi Chao and girlfriend Sean Eav joined the concert at the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront, in a rare appearance at a LGBT rights event.
Chao, whose tycoon father had earlier offered HK$500 million to the man who could marry his daughter, now says her family "is quite supportive, but it is an ongoing process with them".
"My hope is that the LGBT rights movement in Hong Kong will continue to develop, and no more LGBT youth will become suicidal because of bullying," said Chao, who added that she supported anti-gay discrimination legislation.
My hope is that the LGBT rights movement in Hong Kong will continue to develop, and no more LGBT youth will become suicidal because of bullying
The concert was organised by the Big Love Alliance. It was founded in January by lawmaker Cyd Ho Sau-lan and openly gay singers Anthony Wong Yiu-ming and Denise Ho Wan-sze.