Same-sex court ruling does not mean we will approve gay marriage in near future, Hong Kong’s leader says

Judgment applied strictly to immigration, Chief Executive Carrie Lam adds, as she challenges openly gay lawmaker to prove city is ready for more change

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Chief Executive Carrie Lam challenged the city’s only openly gay lawmaker to prove Hong Kong was ready for further change when it came to the rights of same-sex couples. Photo: Edward Wong

Published: 5:15pm, 12 Jul 2018Updated: 10:48pm, 12 Jul 2018

The Hong Kong government has no plans to amend other social policies following a landmark ruling in favour of a same-sex couple’s dependant visa application, the city’s leader has said.

At the closing question and answer session of the Legislative Council on Thursday, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said though the government respected the court’s ruling, the QT case was not a challenge to Hong Kong’s Marriage Ordinance and concerned only the city’s immigration policy.

The QT case was launched by a British lesbian who fought to have her civil union recognised in Hong Kong after her partner moved to the city for work. The Court of Final Appeal ruled last week that immigration authorities were required to issue spousal visas to same-sex partners.

Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong deputy chairman Horace Cheung Kwok-kwan, who is also a member of the Executive Council, asked Lam on Thursday whether other policies “such as public housing, welfare, or adoption [would] face similar legal challenges”.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam responding to questions in Legco. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

Cheung also questioned whether the case would lead to the government “indirectly” recognising civil unions and same-sex marriages.

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