Hong Kong High Court rules in favor of legal recognition for same-sex partnerships

[NewYorkExpress]

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/hong-kong-top-court-rules-favor-same-sex-civil-unions-rcna103333

An activist detained in Hong Kong partially won his final appeal Tuesday seeking recognition for same-sex marriage registered overseas, in a landmark court ruling that is likely to have a far-reaching impact on the city’s LGBTQ+ community.

Jimmy Sham, a prominent pro-democracy activist during 2019 anti-government protests, married his husband in New York 10 years ago. Sham first asked for a judicial review in 2018 arguing that Hong Kong’s laws, which don’t recognize foreign same-sex marriage, violate the constitutional right to equality. The lower courts had dismissed his challenges.

Sham has been in custody after being charged under a Beijing-imposed national security law following the massive protests. The law has been used to arrest and silence many other pro-democracy activists as part of a crackdown on dissent in the former British colony.


Judges at the city’s top court, by a majority, declared in a written ruling that the 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. But they unanimously dismissed his appeal on other grounds.

[Sirius_]

Increasingly rare Hong Kong government W

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Is anyone that impressed by civil unions in 2023?

[SnowLabrador]

Is anyone that impressed by civil unions in 2023?

To be fair, lots of countries still don't recognize them. This is progress, even if it's slower than many (including myself) would like. At least they, like Japan, are moving in the right direction on this issue. That can't be said for every nation...

[CumbrianLefty]

Is anyone that impressed by civil unions in 2023?

For once the over-used term "Western-centric" is appropriate to this POV.

[No War, but the War on Christmas]

Civil Unions are inferior for a multitude of reasons, including the fact that many countries won't recognize them, and they often times aren't respected by institutions in the same way as a marriage would be, even if on paper they're suppose to have all the same rights, which isn't even a given in itself.

That being said, civil unions would enable same-sex and non-heteronormative couples, partners, and individuals to become more normalized in the society and it's a pretty obvious argument to make in 10-15 years that we may as well abolish the semantics difference once these partnerships are more broadly accepted and visible.

Just my two cents, cheers to all local Hong Kong activists and solidarity in this and their many other struggles.