British consulate to press Hong Kong on gay marriage after diplomatic backtrack
After Hong Kong appeared to amend its position same-sex marriages at consulates, Britain's representatives want clarification
The British consul-general is asking the Hong Kong authorities to clarify whether same-sex marriages can take place at the consulate.
The British consulate said on Monday that the city government had "raised an objection" to it solemnising same-sex marriages.
But the Hong Kong government's protocol department said on Tuesday that it was up to consulates to decide what services they wished to provide their nationals in line with the Vienna Convention and Hong Kong's Consular Relations Ordinance.
Yesterday a spokesman for the British consulate said: "We will be making further inquiries with the HKSAR government regarding the potential for the consulate-general to solemnise same-sex marriages for British nationals in Hong Kong as a matter of priority."
British diplomatic missions are not subject to local law, but British law prohibits them from issuing marriage licences if the host country objects.
Mainland China, Azerbaijan, notoriously anti-gay Russia and 20 other countries have allowed same-sex unions at British consulates.
Consul-general Caroline Wilson took to Twitter to repeat the language of her office's spokesman.