MTR Corp attempts to salvage reputation as shifts blame to agency in face of outrage over Hong Kong same-sex Cathay Pacific advert ban
- Operator says it is fully committed to equal opportunities and ‘does not tolerate discrimination on any grounds’
- But questions remain over whether banned advert will now be displayed at city’s train stations
Hong Kong’s railway operator sought to salvage its reputation on Monday by instructing its advertising agency to fully consider diversity in the future, after sparking outrage for refusing to display an advert showing two men holding hands.
But even after shifting the blame to the agency, the MTR Corporation still failed to quell the anger of the city’s LGBT community, who said it was not enough to only consider those types of images in the future. They demanded to know whether the operator would now allow the advert in question to be displayed.
“What does it mean that they will consider so in the future? What about [this advert] this time?” said Raymond Chan Chi-chuen, Hong Kong’s first openly gay lawmaker.
The advert was part of Cathay Pacific Airways’ rebranding campaign called “Move Beyond”. It was intended to highlight the airline’s attitude to diversity.
But the Airport Authority, which runs the city’s international airport, joined the rail operator in rejecting the sensitive material involved, two sources familiar with the matter have said.