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Letters | On sexual diversity, Hong Kong must find a path grounded in traditional Chinese values

  • Readers discuss appeals for Hong Kong to embrace same-sex marriage and the Gay Games, and the growing ranks of rule-breakers in the city

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A couple holds lai see from elderly family members during a Chinese wedding. In August, Hong Kong’s Court of Appeal ruled that the city’s mini-constitution granted access to the institution of marriage only to opposite sex partners and that the government had no obligation to recognise same-sex unions. Shutterstock.
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It appears to me that there is quite an obvious cultural disconnect in the way Mark Peaker views Hong Kong (“Serial letter writer never afraid to call out government”, October 14). Hongkongers are not as liberal as Peaker perceives them to be when it comes to issues surrounding same-sex marriage, but when the Post reported then chief executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor saying “same-sex marriage was an issue that lacked societal consensus” in 2018, he cried foul, citing how progressive other parts of the world were (“Carrie Lam’s comments on same-sex marriage in Hong Kong ignore public opinion”, July 16, 2018). However, perhaps that is why he is sorely mistaken.
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Hong Kong is not an extension of the West, nor should it solely serve the interests of the West. The world is bigger than the Five Eyes countries or Nato. Likewise, Hong Kong is more socially and politically dynamic than perhaps Peaker understands, and Hongkongers, by and large, just aren’t ready for same-sex marriage. Peaker calls for Hong Kong to “embrace diversity” (“Hong Kong Gay Games ‘dirty money’ slur uncalled for”, June 11, 2021), but ostracises the views of conservatives and says I “should be forced to apologise”.
I object to the Gay Games on grounds of national security interests as well as the distasteful outfits and displays usually associated with the event. Article 23 of China’s national security law states that we must advance excellent Chinese traditions and values, and resist improper and negative cultural influences.
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The distaste I have for the Gay Games is, exactly, to prevent the spread of such cultural influences to the youth of Hong Kong. As a legislator, I am duty bound to protect Hong Kong. The community as a whole should stand guard against ideologies that run contrary to the city’s and the nation’s interests.

To celebrate sexual diversity, Hong Kong must find a path grounded in traditional Chinese values.

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