The Hong Kong Legislative Council rejected a bill that would allow same-sex partnerships on Wednesday, with 14 out of the 86 lawmakers voting in favor. File Photo by Leigh Vogel/UPI | License Photo
The Hong Kong Legislative Council rejected a bill that would have granted recognition to same-sex partnerships on Wednesday.
Lawmakers voted 71-14 in opposition of the bill while one lawmaker, Doreen Kong, abstained.
The bill sought to allow residents to register their partnerships locally and grant them rights in handling medical and after-death matters. It included the ability to access their partners’ medical information and participate in medical decisions with consent, and claim their deceased partners’ remains.
During the voting, lawmakers expressed their opposing views on the bill.
Lawmaker Maggie Chan held up a sign that read “Resolutely opposed to the Registration of Same-sex Partnerships Bill.”
She also warned the bill “rocks the foundation of the monogamous and heterosexual marriage system in Hong Kong.”
Lawmaker Holden Chow believed the bill would be like opening “a Pandora’s box,” and “subverting Hong Kong’s marriage system between one man and one woman.”
“When there are only moms in your home and no dads, or some have only dads and no moms, how do we celebrate Father’s Day and Mother’s Day?” Lawmaker Junius Ho said, adding he believes the bill should never have been proposed. “We already have a lot of problems on our plate today.”
A nongovernmental organization, Hong Kong Marriage Equality, warned lawmakers that rejecting the bill would undermine the city’s fairness and inclusivity.
Of about 10,775 written submissions in response to this bill, 80% expressed opposition.
Lawmakers who are members of the government’s advisory team have shown support for the bill.
“It cannot be denied that there is discrimination and unfairness in Hong Kong society’s treatment of same-sex couples,” said Lawmaker Martian Liao. “When society lacks a legal framework to recognise same-sex partnerships, gay people could feel inferior and humiliated, knowing their same-sex relationships are not legal and unrecognized.”
“In reality, the rights and responsibilities in the bill are very limited … it only deals with the right to make medical decisions and after-death arrangements,” lawmaker Eunice Yung said,
“If one partner needs to be admitted to a hospital because they are ill or have had an accident, their partner — if they are not a legal family relative — cannot visit them or make medical decisions … even though they have been together for many years, and rely on each other, because of their identities under the law, they cannot stay by the bedside and be with [them] in their final moments,” Yung said.
