Fears that the legal standing of cohabiting partners could be strengthened have been stoked by a government plan that would allow 'two-person households' to apply for transport subsidies, regardless of marital status.
The scheme, whose funding will be voted on by lawmakers on Friday, would allow couples who together earn less than HK$10,000 a month to apply for the subsidy. Each would receive HK$600 a month.
Critics ranging from religious groups to social workers said the scheme set a bad precedent, with some raising the possibility of gay couples getting government benefits.
Some senior officials said they had not intended to open the gates to cohabiting partners; they were only trying to include more people in the $HK4.3 billion programme.
One senior government official said: 'I have not been told the government's general policy on unmarried couples has changed.'
The director of the Catholic Diocese's social communications office, Dominic Yung, said the move 'could be dangerous'.
