Hong Kongers support gay marriage. Their leaders, not so much The city has rejected** reform** even as other places in Asia embrace it Nov 6th 2025|Hong Kong|3 min read In 2023 Hong Kong’s highest court ordered the city’s government to introduce rules offering a degree of legal recognition to unions between people of the same sex. That Hong Kong had no legal framework relating to civil partnerships, it argued, contravened freedoms enshrined in the city’s Bill of Rights. The justices ruled that this problem had to be remedied by the end of October 2025. That deadline has just come and gone—and with much less effect than campaigners had hoped. In September, as the deadline approached, Hong Kong’s executive asked lawmakers to vote on a bill that would have granted limited rights to gay couples who got married or entered into civil partnerships abroad. Yet the proposal was roundly rejected, with 71 of 87 lawmakers voting against it. The city’s government now says that it will protect same-sex partnerships using** “administrative measures”**. Hong Kongers are sceptical: “It’s difficult to see how a mere administrative framework can deal with the legal inequalities,” says Azan Marwah, a barrister. The handful of lawmakers who supported the bill argued that greater recognition of same-sex marriages would help reinforce Hong Kong’s claim to be an open and cosmopolitan world city. The dissenters pushed back; they argued that the bill could subvert “traditional values” and teach children that homosexuality is “normal”. Some have framed homosexuality as a Western import. “It is all misleading information that [the public have] been receiving,” says Donald, a gay man. “But unfortunately, we do not have a voice or a platform to let people know that these are all just lies.” Ordinary Hong Kongers are more supportive of gay rights than debates among their politicians might suggest. A survey in 2023 found that 60% of them support same-sex marriage, a big increase from only 38% a decade ago. Some of the city’s insurance companies have started to let gay people register partners on their life-insurance policies. The territory has hosted LGBT-friendly events such as the Gay Games, a sporting event, and Pink Dot, a festival similar to gay-pride gatherings in the West. Yet although most Hong Kongers are happy to know people from sexual minorities, says Priscilla, a trans woman, “if one of your family members is LGBT, this would be a disaster.” Civil-society groups that have worked to change perceptions and to stand up for the rights of sexual minorities have found it much harder to operate since China forced Hong Kong to pass a sweeping national-security law in 2020 (China’s Communist Party likes to promote “traditional” family values and is anyway deeply suspicious of any interest group that it cannot control). Activists say Hong Kong’s government has recently withdrawn financial support for LGBT-friendly events and rejected requests to hold them in public spaces. Nowadays politicians “look up north” to decide what policies to support, says Tim, a gay Hong Konger. “They don’t want to do anything progressive, because they don’t know what Beijing would think.” Many Asian countries stigmatise or even criminalise same-sex relationships. But things have been improving in parts of the continent: in January Thailand became the third Asian country to legalise same-sex marriage, after Taiwan and Nepal. All this amplifies frustration among Hong Kongers, who sense their lawmakers are growing less likely to take a similar step. Many LGBT people in the city think they are unlikely to see change within their lifetimes. But “you have to push with whatever freedom you have,” says Donald. “That is the only way we can get people to understand who we are, and accept us.” ■ 香港人支持同性婚姻，但領導人卻不太願意城市拒絕改革，亞洲其他地方卻在前進 2025年11月6日｜香港｜閱讀時間約3分鐘 2023年，香港最高法院要求政府推出某種形式的法律，給予同性伴侶一定程度的法律承認。法官指出，香港完全沒有任何有關民事伴侶的法律制度，這違反了《香港人權法案》所保障的自由。法院裁定，政府必須在2025年10月底前解決這個問題。如今期限已經過了，但結果卻讓支持者非常失望。隨著期限逼近，政府在9月提出一項法案，打算讓在海外結婚或登記民事伴侶的同性伴侶，在香港能獲得有限的權利。不過，這個提案被立法會以87票中的71票否決。政府現在表示，會用「行政措施」來保障同性伴侶。不過，香港人並不太相信這種說法。「很難想像光靠行政手段就能解決法律上的不平等，」大律師馬亞然（Azan Marwah）說。支持法案的少數議員認為，更廣泛地承認同性婚姻，能夠加強香港作為一個開放、國際化城市的形象。但反對者則說，這會破壞「傳統價值」，甚至讓孩子以為同性戀是「正常的」。有些人還把同性戀說成是「西方輸入」的東西。「這些都是誤導性的資訊，」一名同性戀者唐納（Donald）說，「但可惜的是，我們沒有發聲的平台，讓大家知道這些其實都是謊言。」事實上，普通香港人對同性戀的接受程度，比政客之間的辯論所顯示的要高得多。2023年的一項調查顯示，六成香港人支持同性婚姻，比十年前的38%大幅上升。部分保險公司也開始讓同性伴侶可以登記為受益人。香港也舉辦過多場LGBT友善活動，例如同志運動會（Gay Games）以及類似西方同志遊行的Pink Dot活動。不過，跨性別女性Priscilla說：「雖然大家都說可以接受身邊有同志朋友，但如果家人其中一個是同志，那就變成災難了。」自從中國在2020年強迫香港通過《國安法》後，很多民間團體推動性小眾權益的活動變得困難許多。（中國共產黨強調「傳統家庭價值」，而且對任何它無法掌控的團體都非常警惕。）有活動人士說，香港政府最近撤回對同志友善活動的資金支持，甚至拒絕讓他們在公共空間舉辦活動。同志人士Tim說：「現在的政客都『向北看』，他們不敢推動任何進步的政策，因為不知道北京會怎麼想。」許多亞洲國家仍然歧視甚至刑罰同性戀關係，但部分地區情況已開始改善。今年1月，泰國成為繼台灣和尼泊爾之後第三個合法化同性婚姻的亞洲國家。這讓香港人更感到沮喪——因為他們的政府似乎越來越不可能跟上。許多香港的同志覺得，在自己有生之年恐怕看不到真正的改變。不過，唐納說：「你還是要盡量去爭取，只要還有一點自由，就要繼續努力。因為這是唯一能讓人了解、接受我們的方式。」 -- Hosting provided by SoundOn

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