Can Hong Kong follow Taiwan’s lead on same-sex marriage and live up to its Asia’s World City tag?

David Ogilvie says that, despite setbacks, the signs are that the conditions and mindset are right for Hong Kong to claim its place as a true East-West melting pot, with a citizenry tolerant of all sexualities

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The manner in which the government of Hong Kong settles the issue of same-sex marriage will dovetail nicely with the city’s cosmopolitan claims. Photo: AFP

Published: 10:50am, 20 Sep 2017Updated: 6:54pm, 20 Sep 2017

A few months ago, Taiwan became the first jurisdiction in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage, joining a list of more than 20 countries worldwide over the past 16 years that now permit this. Where might be next in the region? Hong Kong looks like a reasonable assumption. There are, of course, many reasons why same-sex marriage legislation is or is not passed in a particular jurisdiction, but essentially it comes down to three issues.

First, religious tolerance. There are only a small number of anti-gay religious activists in Hong Kong, although they do appear to have a relatively vocal platform that belies their size.

Choi Chi-sum, general secretary of the conservative Christian group, the Society For Truth And Light, for example, has been given an increasingly prominent stage to present his views following Taiwan’s legislative change. His opinions on same-sex marriage, sexual minority anti-discrimination laws, and even the recent “controversy” over a homosexual character in the Disney film Beauty and the Beast are well known.

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Also, a surprisingly large number of politicians in Hong Kong profess to be devout Christians, although this does not of course automatically denote anti-gay or even anti-same-sex-marriage sentiment.

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The second issue is the level of civic freedom that Hong Kong enjoys. Homosexuality was decriminalised here in 1991 and, while anti-discrimination laws are only applied to government employees, many corporations have worked independently to adopt their own codes on this issue.

Nevertheless, one could argue that LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) rights have taken a few steps backward in recent years, such as when the government appealed against a High Court decision in April granting welfare benefits to the spouse of a gay civil servant. Moreover, the government’s decision to not allow same-sex couples to wed at the British consulate after the country legalised same-sex marriage in 2014 upset many activists, particularly given that several countries that have often been criticised for their gay rights record, such as Russia and Azerbaijan, had given their consent to the practice.

Choi Chi-sum (centre), general secretary of the Society for Truth and Light, and other members of the conservative Christian group present more than 100,000 signatures to the Equal Opportunities Commission to oppose its move to redefine marital status, on October 28, 2014. Photo: Nora Tam

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So, while these two issues offer a mixed bag for those advocating a more liberal approach to same-sex marriage locally, they are perhaps both trumped by the third and most important issue, which is the degree of acceptance a society has towards sexual minorities.