groyn88 Posted September 5, 2023 Report Share Posted September 5, 2023 Hong Kong's top court ruled on Tuesday, 5 September 2023 in favour of same-sex partnerships including civil unions but stopped short of granting full marriage rights in a partial win for the city's LGBTQ community. Over the past decade, LGBTQ activists in the former British colony have won piecemeal victories in court, striking down discriminatory government policies on visas, taxes and housing benefits. But the case brought by jailed pro-democracy activist Jimmy Sham is the first time Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal has directly addressed the issue of same-sex marriage. In its ruling, the court declared that the Hong Kong government "is in violation of its positive obligation...to establish an alternative framework for legal recognition of same-sex partnerships (such as registered civil partnerships or civil unions)". The court gave "a period of two years" for authorities to comply with the ruling by creating a framework, leaving specifics to be decided by the government and the opposition-free legislature. But it stopped short of making a decision of full marriage equality for same-sex couples. The court "unanimously dismisses the appeal in relation" to same-sex marriage and recognition of foreign same-sex marriage, it said in its judgement. Since Hong Kong was handed back to China in 1997, it has enjoyed a semi-autonomous status that allows it more freedoms than in the mainland, and its legal system is governed under a common law system. The city has in recent years seen increasing support among its population for same-sex marriage -- a stark contrast to the mainland where social stigma is widespread and the LGBTQ community have alleged a growing crackdown on their already-limited space. A poll this year found that 60 per cent of Hong Kongers supported same-sex marriage, compared to just 38 per cent a decade ago. The challenge launched by Sham, 36, began in 2018. He is currently behind bars awaiting prosecution for national security charges unrelated to LGBTQ rights, and was not brought to court Tuesday. Sham had argued the city's ban on same-sex marriage violated his right to equality, while the lack of a policy alternative - such as civil unions - does the same, in addition to breaching his right to privacy. Links: https://the-singapore-lgbt-encyclopaedia.fandom.com/wiki/Same-sex_marriage_in_Singapore calvt and SAKnight93 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groyn88 Posted September 6, 2023 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2023 (edited) I love this Channel NewsAsia discussion which emphasises that the ruling puts Hong Kong ahead of the competition in making it a more inclusive city to attract worldwide LGBT talent. Hope the PAP will sit up and take note. Edited September 6, 2023 by groyn88 SAKnight93 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AskMeNot Posted September 6, 2023 Report Share Posted September 6, 2023 Claps for progress. 🙂 calvt 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auscent Posted September 6, 2023 Report Share Posted September 6, 2023 Hong Kong still is ahead of its time. Amazing they pulled it off under such political climate. Hats off! calvt 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweetie Pie Posted September 8, 2023 Report Share Posted September 8, 2023 If CCP can pull it out, it will undoubtedly put Singapore to shame, in terms of gay union on a global scale. We should not just stop at repealing of S377A, we need to ride the tide of a new world order with regard to LGBT issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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