This archive report was first published on 18 October 2019.
On October 18, 2019, a Hong Kong court delivered a blow to the city's LGBTQ+ community by ruling against allowing same-sex unions. The decision, made by Judge Anderson Chow, upheld a government policy prohibiting such unions.
The ruling came just five months after Taiwan became the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriages, sparking hope among many that other places in the region would follow suit.
Judge Chow argued that updating the definition of marriage to include same-sex couples would lead to 'far-reaching consequences' that the court was not prepared to accept. He stated that it was 'beyond the proper scope of the functions or powers of the court, in the name of interpretation, to seek to effect a change of social policy on such a fundamental issue.'
The judicial review was filed in June 2018 by a woman, referred to as MK in court documents, who wanted to marry or enter into a legally recognized civil partnership with her partner in Hong Kong. She argued that the government's denial of same-sex marriage and civil unions was unconstitutional.
Man-kei Tam, the director of Amnesty International Hong Kong, expressed disappointment at the ruling, stating that 'the discriminatory treatment of same-sex couples will continue for the time being.'
Despite the setback, advocates for LGBTQ+ rights in Hong Kong remain hopeful. A 2017 poll conducted by the University of Hong Kong found that more than half of residents surveyed supported same-sex marriage, compared with 38 percent in 2013.
