Hong Kong leader backs same-sex couples' rights Bill
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LGBTQ activists say the Bill fails to satisfy the court’s framework requirements.
PHOTO: AFP
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Hong Kong - Hong Kong leader John Lee threw his weight behind a bill recognising limited rights for same-sex couples on July 15, despite fears that opposition from pro-Beijing parties could sink it.
Mr Lee’s administration proposed legislation in July to recognise some rights for same-sex partners whose marriages are registered abroad.
Despite LGBTQ activists arguing it does not go far enough, the proposal drew near-universal criticism from the pro-Beijing politicians that dominate Hong Kong’s legislature.
The clash pitted Mr Lee against conservative lawmakers from his own camp and led some to fear the proposal might be pulled.
The city’s top court ordered Hong Kong’s government to create an “alternative framework” for LGBTQ couples when it quashed a bid to recognise same-sex marriage in 2023.
Mr Lee said on July 15 the government “must not act in violation” of the Court of Final Appeal’s judgement.
“Otherwise, it will be against the rule of law... Violating the rule of law will mean serious consequences,” he told reporters.
The government will respect the legislature’s final decision, he added.
In 2023, the court unanimously defined marriage as “confined to opposite-sex couples” – a stance Mr Lee reiterated on July 15.
LGBTQ activists say the Bill – which only covers “rights related to medical matters” and “right to handle after-death arrangements” – fails to satisfy the court’s framework requirements.
China is not among the countries around the world that have legalised marriage equality since the Netherlands became the first to do so in 2001.
Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China with its own legislature and a mini-constitution that guarantees a “high degree of autonomy”.
Pro-Beijing firebrand lawmaker Junius Ho earlier floated the idea of asking Beijing’s top legislature to overrule Hong Kong’s apex court to “protect traditional family values”.
Support for same-sex marriage in Hong Kong has grown over the past decade and hit 60 per cent, according to a 2023 survey. AFP
