Family concern groups to protest after Hong Kong’s equalities chief claims consensus on law to protect sexual minorities

More than 10 parental groups dedicated to family values will express their opposition to anti-discrimination legislation for sexual minorities after accusing the equal opportunities chief of distorting their opposition to such a law by claiming there was consensus on the issue.

The groups will join hands with some legislators and storm the Equal Opportunities Commission’s (EOC) office in Taikoo Shing on Thursday to demand clarification from its chairman, Professor Alfred Chan Cheung-ming.

They are furious because Chan told a Legislative Council panel meeting last week that he had met various stakeholder groups, including LGBT and anti-LGBT groups, and there was a “clear consensus” among them for an anti-discrimination law to safeguard the rights of sexual minorities.

Protest organiser Roger Wong Wai-ming, convenor of the Family School Sexual Orientation Discrimination Ordinance Concern Group, feared Chan’s distorted statement would mislead the public into wrongly thinking they supported the law.

Declaring they would become more “vocal” about the issue, Wong, who is also a core member of the Parental Rights Alliance, said the community was not well informed about the “draconian effects” such a law would have on their rights and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of conscience, thought and speech.

The alliance, a coalition of parents, is polling Legco election hopefuls for their views and positions on LGBT-related legislative issues. Their stances will be uploaded online for reference before people vote in September.