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November 07, 2015

Hong Kong's gay rights far behind Taiwan and Japan, says LGBT protesters

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

PUBLISHED : Saturday, 07 November, 2015, 6:58pm

UPDATED : Saturday, 07 November, 2015, 7:12pm

Leung Kwok-hung, a member of the Legislative Council in Hong Kong, takes part in the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgender (LGBT) parade in Hong Kong calling for equality and same-sex marriage. Photo: AFP

Hong Kong’s streets were a sea of  rainbow flags on Saturday as protesters marched in the city’s annual gay pride  parade to call for equality and same-sex marriage.

Around a thousand demonstrators paraded through downtown Hong Kong, with  many complaining that the city lags behind other major Asian hubs in terms of  LGBT rights.

“There’s still a lot of room to improve, compared to Taiwan and even to  Japan,” Carol Yung, a 40-year-old marketing officer in the music industry, told  AFP.

“These days they are...already discussing about same sex marriage, but in  Hong Kong we’re still very far behind,” Yung said.

Taiwan, which held a massive pride parade attended by nearly 80,000 people  last month, is one of the most progressive Asian countries when it comes to  homosexuality, but a bill to make same-sex marriage legal has been stalled in  parliament since it was first proposed in 2013.

A Participant of the LGBT community march wears a Darth Vader mask during the 13th annual Taipei Gay Pride march in Taipei at the end of October. Photo: EPA

Hong Kong’s LGBT community has for years sought a ban on discrimination on  the grounds of sexual orientation.

LGBT issues are in the spotlight again this month after comments from the  city’s Catholic bishop, which angered many in the community.

READ MORE: Catholic bishop of Hong Kong hits out at gay marriage and tells flock to consider the issue before voting

Cardinal John Tong, in a letter published Thursday, said concepts of  marriage and family were being “challenged” by what he called “the gay  movement”.

If a Sexual Orientation Discrimination Ordinance were enacted, or gay  marriage legalised “this would force our society into undergoing a change that  would turn it upside-down”, Tong said.

In another development, the judgement for a landmark court case in which a  gay British woman challenged the government’s refusal to grant her a visa to  live in the territory with her partner, is expected in November. 

QT, as she is referred to in court, had called the authorities’ decision to  be “discriminatory”. She entered into a civil partnership in Britain in 2011  and moved to Hong Kong in the same year after her partner was offered a job in  the city.

Hong Kong's streets were coloured by rainbow flags as protesters marched in the city's annual gay pride parade this Saturday. Photo: AFP

One of Saturday’s marchers, Mark Green, 54, who works in the city’s fashion  industry, told AFP however that things were progressing.

“I think Hong Kong is making enormous progress. We’re seeing changes...in  the way that people react and respond to gay people in the work place and  society,” Green said.

But “the government is really a little bit behind the times when it comes  to recognising LGBT rights”, he said, adding that even China recognises the need to give same-sex couples dependent visas.

“We really need the government to take the lead and get up to speed with  the rest of the world,” he said. 

http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1876533/hong-kongs-gay-rights-lagging-lgbt-protesters