HONG KONG — (09-05-23) — Hong Kong’s top court ruled Tuesday in favor of same-sex civil unions but stopped short of ruling in favor of full marriage rights in a partial win for HK’s LGBTQ community.
Over the past decade, LGBTQ activists in Hong Kong have won piecemeal victories in court, striking down discriminatory government policies on visas, taxes and housing benefits. This ruling is another win that activists can add to their victory list.
But the case brought by jailed pro-democracy activist Jimmy Sham is the first time Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal has directly addressed the issue of same-sex marriage.
In the court’s ruling, the court declared that the Hong Kong government “is in violation of its positive obligation… to establish an alternative framework for legal recognition of same-sex partnerships”, such as civil unions.
The court “unanimously dismisses the appeal in relation” to same-sex marriage and recognition of foreign same-sex marriage, it said in its judgement.
While LGBTQ activism continues to face political challenges in mainland China, semi-autonomous Hong Kong has seen increasing support among its citizens for same-sex marriage.
In fact in a recent poll taken a few weeks ago, 60 percent of Hong Kongers supported same-sex marriage, compared to just 38 percent a decade ago.
Article by: Paul Goldberg, Staff Writer
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