Lawmakers vote in the Legislative Council Chamber for a decision on whether to grant limited rights to same-sex couples in Hong Kong. Lawmakers rejected a government bill that would have granted limited rights to same-sex couples whose unions are registered abroad, dealing a major blow to the city's LGBTQ community. Photo / Peter Parks, AFP
Lawmakers vote in the Legislative Council Chamber for a decision on whether to grant limited rights to same-sex couples in Hong Kong. Lawmakers rejected a government bill that would have granted limited rights to same-sex couples whose unions are registered abroad, dealing a major blow to the city's LGBTQ community. Photo / Peter Parks, AFP
At a tiny, cluttered flat in Hong Kong, four people sat around a large rainbow flag and quietly started to embroider.
Just hours before, the city’s legislature overwhelmingly vetoed a government bill that would have granted limited rights to same-sex couples – a stinging defeat for an LGBTQ community thathas already spent years on the back foot.
Some community members told AFP the outcome of Wednesday’s vote was “expected”, but that did little to cushion the emotional blow and assuage doubts about the future of advocating equality.
“I want to use a relatively calm activity to contain and process these grievances, and to preserve our energy to act,” said performance artist Holok Chen, who organised the embroidery event.
Rather than listening to politicians’ speeches, it was more important to offer emotional support to peers, especially young people in anguish, Chen said.
An electronic board in the Legislative Council Chamber shows the results of votes for a decision on whether to grant limited rights to same-sex couples in Hong Kong. Photo / Peter Parks, AFP
Sham was behind the legal bid that in 2023 led the city’s top court to order the creation of an “alternate framework” to recognise same-sex couples’ rights – prompting the Government proposal.
The court’s demand still stands and authorities should “learn from the experience of this bill” and try again, he told reporters after the vote.
Sham was previously jailed under Hong Kong’s sweeping national security law as part of a case targeting 47 pro-democracy figures. He completed his sentence in May.
While many former prisoners have kept a low profile, Sham remains outspoken and has sat in the public gallery for every legislative session regarding the same-sex partnerships bill.
“There are parts of me that feel angry, but I hope everyone will join me in not feeling discouraged, and to do what we can for Hong Kong,” he said outside the legislature.
He added that he and his legal team will study options.
For arts administrator Kevin Wong, the discarded bill – which included a provision allowing a person to handle after-death arrangements of a partner – hit close to home.
Wong wrote a letter in July urging lawmakers to support the bill, citing his experience dealing with the aftermath of his partner’s suicide in 2021.
“Same-sex couples could be denied the right to say final goodbyes in a hospital, to make medical directions or even be blocked from attending funerals,” he wrote.
Wong, 54, said the bill’s defeat reinforced his worry that “for the next decade or so [LGBTQ people] may need to live in an unfavourable environment” both in Hong Kong and abroad.
