HK’s same-sex union Bill marks first big split between govt and legislature

HONG KONG – The first major clash of views between Hong Kong leader John Lee’s administration and the usually biddable legislature is centred on an issue that affects just 6 per cent of the city’s population.

The contention is over the government’s proposal to recognise a limited set of legal rights for same-sex couples who are married abroad.

This move would affect the roughly 450,000 people who identify as non-heterosexual in the population of 7.4 million in the Asian financial hub.

The divergence of views, while a healthy sign of diversity, is proving a headache for the government. 

The Bill to recognise these rights – which is the government’s bid to comply with a landmark court ruling in 2023 obliging it to do so – was formally introduced to the Legislative Council (LegCo) on July 16.

Lawmakers were set to debate the proposal, but that has for now been adjourned. A date for the debate, which precedes a vote on the Bill, has yet to be announced.

The delay comes after strong opposition to the Bill from nearly half the 89-member LegCo. For the Bill to be passed into law, a majority vote is required.

But with 41 lawmakers having already said they will either reject the Bill or abstain from the vote and only eight publicly expressing their support for it so far, a veto looks almost certain.

It is an unusual situation in Hong Kong’s “patriots only” legislature, which has, since an electoral overhaul in 2021, been largely aligned with the government’s objectives, resulting in the uneventful passage of most Bills – until now.

Over the past week, top officials have repeatedly articulated the government’s stance on the matter and urged lawmakers to back the same-sex partnerships Bill.

On July 15, a day ahead of the Bill’s scheduled readings in LegCo,

Chief Executive Lee stressed

that the government was obliged to set up a framework to recognise the core legal rights of married same-sex couples, or risk violating the rule of law.

“The rule of law is the cornerstone of Hong Kong’s economy, investors’ confidence and its long-established success,” Mr Lee said. “Violating it will mean serious consequences.”

He added, however, that he would “respect the LegCo’s final decision” on the matter.

Hong Kong’s top court had in September 2023 ruled that the government had failed in its constitutional duty to provide means for the legal recognition of same-sex partnerships, and gave it two years to do so. The deadline falls on Oct 27.

The Court of Final Appeal’s ruling came after gay activist Jimmy Sham’s legal challenge to the city to recognise such marriages registered abroad. Same-sex marriages are not permitted in Hong Kong.

On July 16, Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang told LegCo that the government’s proposal was a “reasonable balance” between fulfilling same-sex couples’ basic societal needs and preserving the heterosexual marriage system.

“The government understands that the Bill is controversial, but… we hope lawmakers will be pragmatic, rational and impartial in scrutinising it,” he said.

LegCo rules stipulate that the scrutiny of a Bill should “be completed within three months of its commencement”, or an extension be requested if necessary.

The proposed framework grants to same-sex couples who have entered into marriage overseas, and of whom at least one is a Hong Kong resident, legal rights in matters relating to healthcare, such as making medical decisions, hospital visits and after-death arrangements.

But many lawmakers in the city’s heavyweight political parties see it as an attack on the institution of marriage.

Legislator Holden Chow of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong said the Bill, if passed, would in effect recognise same-sex marriage.

Legislator Stanley Ng of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions warned that the Bill would “completely turn our values and foundations upside down”.

Independent lawmaker Junius Ho called on the government to ask Beijing to overturn the court ruling, arguing that the proposed law would “hurt tens of thousands of Hong Kong’s future generations”.

“Diversity, inclusiveness, equality. Together, they are D-I-E. Die. A dead end,” he told a forum in December 2024.

Among the few legislators publicly supporting the Bill is Mrs Regina Ip of the New People’s Party, who described it as a “very practical” proposal that allows the government to do merely “the minimum” to fulfil the court’s order.

According to Professor John Burns, emeritus professor of politics and public administration at the University of Hong Kong, the discord over the Bill raises some broader issues.

“It demonstrates to the world that Hong Kong continues to have its own autonomy as its courts and the government remain independent (from the Chinese central government),” he said.

“But Junius Ho’s call to have Beijing step in to overturn the Hong Kong court ruling serves to undermine Hong Kong’s autonomy and ‘one country, two systems’,” he added.

“One country, two systems” refers to the framework under which Beijing promised Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy that lets it retain its own economic, legal and administrative systems that are different from those of mainland China after returning to the mainland’s fold in 1997.

“It also raises the issue of the extent to which this Legislative Council actually represents the people of Hong Kong, as the lawmakers’ overwhelming opposition to the Bill is out of step with public opinion in the city,” said Prof Burns.

A 2023 survey showed 85 per cent of Hong Kongers favour granting some legal rights to same-sex couples. Sixty per cent of the more than 1,500 respondents said they agreed with same-sex marriage; 23 per cent were neutral; while 17 per cent were against it.

Prof Burns suggested that the lawmakers’ opposition could also be in part to pander to their ultra-conservative supporters ahead of the upcoming LegCo elections on Dec 7.

Until now, the current LegCo had been closely aligned with the government’s goals, helping it push through legislation that in a previous era would have been endlessly stalled by dissenting lawmakers and their filibustering. In 2024, for example,

it took just 12 days to approve a domestic national security law

that had been delayed for over two decades.

Mr Jerome Yau, co-founder of advocacy group Hong Kong Marriage Equality, said the same-sex partnerships Bill “represents a small but important step forward in acknowledging same-sex relationships in Hong Kong”.

The diverse views on the issue “show that Hong Kong is a pluralistic society”, Mr Yau said, adding that it was in Hong Kong’s best interests to maintain this aspect of the city “as global talent and investors increasingly value openness, diversity and inclusivity”.

“Any protection is better than none,” his non-governmental organisation said in a separate statement. “But the proposal, as it stands, falls well short of providing the full and equal recognition that all couples and families deserve.”

Even so, Hong Kong-based Singaporean lawyer Tan Loke Khoon, who is openly gay, is “grateful” that the government is pushing to pass the Bill.

Mr Tan, who wed his partner Peter Leong in Vancouver, Canada, in 2022, said he had been disappointed he could not get married in Hong Kong or Singapore, both of which he calls home.

“It means so much to be able to celebrate your union with your partner in the place you love. But the reality is that things take time,” said the lawyer who leads LGBT initiatives, including Pink Dot, in Hong Kong and the region for his law firm. 

Having legal rights from his marriage recognised in Hong Kong would be an “extremely important and necessary” development for the city.

“Just as Singapore made a small step forward in repealing 377A, Hong Kong would be moving in the right direction if the same-sex partnerships Bill is passed here,” he added.

Mr Tan was referring to a colonial-era law under Section 377A of Singapore’s penal code that had criminalised sex between men for nearly a century

until it was abolished in 2022

. Singapore also amended the Constitution at the same time to protect the heterosexual definition of marriage – a union between a man and a woman – from legal challenge.

Prof Burns expects the Bill to “die at the stage of debate”, given the lack of lawmaker support for the Hong Kong government’s proposed legislation.

“The government can then request an extension of the Oct 27 deadline from the court, and push the matter to the new LegCo after the election in December,” he said.

Hong Kong’s situation is already better than that in other jurisdictions, the academic said, explaining that the city has judges who can adjudicate independently on such matters of contention, a government that is obliged to heed the courts’ orders, and lawmakers who can vote on these matters.

But the legislature’s strong opposition to the Bill that affects only the small group of non-heterosexual people is a reflection of the “small-mindedness and lack of cosmopolitanism” that exists within Hong Kong society, Prof Burns said.

“It suggests that Hong Kong is still not a global city and that it is not actually interested in attracting the best talents, wherever and whomever they may be,” he added.