{"id":424928,"date":"2024-11-27T00:51:54","date_gmt":"2024-11-27T00:51:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=424928"},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-29T14:00:00","slug":"Hong-Kong-s-legal-battles-over-LGBTQ-rights-key-dates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/Hong-Kong-s-legal-battles-over-LGBTQ-rights-key-dates\/","title":{"rendered":"Hong Kong’s legal battles over LGBTQ rights: key dates"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hong Kong’s LGBTQ community has long resorted to the courts to fight for equality and rights protection — and that strategy has gradually paid off over the past decade.<\/p>\n

The Chinese city still does not permit same-sex marriage, but activists have won piecemeal victories that struck down discriminatory government policies on visas, taxes, inheritance and housing.<\/p>\n

Here are some key dates:<\/p>\n

– 1991: Decriminalisation –<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

Hong Kong’s colonial-era lawmakers in 1991 voted to decriminalise consensual sexual acts between men aged 21 or above, belatedly following Britain’s lead.<\/p>\n

After the city was handed over to China in 1997, LGBTQ activists found limited success in a legislature packed with Beijing loyalists, and proposals for an anti-discrimination law on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity went nowhere.<\/p>\n

– 2006-2008: Early successes –<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

The case of Leung TC William Roy, which went to the Court of Appeal, helped lay the groundwork for LGBTQ rights protection under the Basic Law, Hong Kong’s mini-constitution.<\/p>\n

Appeal judges ruled in September 2006 that the Basic Law and Hong Kong’s Bill of Rights should be read in a way that prohibited unlawful discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.<\/p>\n

In the 2008 case of Cho Man-kit, the court said Hong Kong’s Broadcasting Authority was wrong to publicly criticise a television documentary that featured same-sex marriage.<\/p>\n

– 2013 onwards: Trans rights –<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

Hong Kong’s top court in 2013 ruled in favour of a transgender woman’s right to marry — a stance considered progressive compared with other Asian jurisdictions at the time.<\/p>\n

The plaintiff had completed gender confirmation surgery and should count as a woman for the purposes of getting married, which would allow her to marry a man, the judges said.<\/p>\n

In 2023, the Court of Final Appeal ruled that a transgender person can apply to change the “sex entry” on their Hong Kong identity card without having to fully complete surgery — though activists say the government has not fully amended its policy to reflect the court’s demands.\u00a0<\/p>\n

– 2018 onwards: Incremental wins –<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

Legal challenges in the late 2010s showed a pattern of activists targeting smaller wins to increase their chances of success.<\/p>\n

Many of their arguments focused on how certain Hong Kong government policies treated same-sex couples differently from opposite-sex couples without good reason.<\/p>\n

This led to the Court of Final Appeal siding with same-sex couples on issues such as spousal visas in 2018 and joint taxation in 2019.<\/p>\n

– 2023: Same-sex marriage bid –<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

Jimmy Sham, a pro-democracy activist known for advocating LGBTQ rights, asked the court to strike down Hong Kong’s ban on same-sex marriage — a move considered more ambitious than previous legal bids.<\/p>\n

On September 5, 2023, by a 3-2 vote, Hong Kong’s top judges rejected same-sex marriage but ordered the government to set up an “alternative legal framework” to protect same-sex couples’ rights.<\/p>\n

Officials were given a two-year deadline to pass relevant legislation. No bill has yet been tabled.<\/p>\n

The government told AFP in September that it was “formulating implementation details” — but declined to say if a public consultation would be held.<\/p>\n

Sham was one of 45 democracy campaigners jailed this year after being found guilty of subversion under a Beijing-imposed national security law, though his case was not directly related to LGBTQ advocacy.<\/p>\n

– 2024: More gains –<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, Hong Kong’s top court ruled against the government to affirm housing and inheritance rights for same-sex couples.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Resident Nick Infinger went to court over a policy that excluded him and his partner from public rental housing on the grounds they were not an “ordinary family”.<\/p>\n

The case was later heard together with that of Henry Li and his late husband, Edgar Ng, who challenged government policies on subsidised housing and inheritance rules.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The court unanimously dismissed the government’s appeals.\u00a0<\/p>\n

hol\/reb\/wp\/cwl<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Hong Kong LGBTQ community’s fight for rights has wended its way through the city’s court system<\/p>\n

-Aaron TAM
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