Hong Kong’s Government Has Rejected A Bill That Would Have Recognized Same-Sex Partnerships
On Wednesday, Sept. 10, Hong Kong’s parliament rejected the bill by 71 votes to 14 with one abstention.
Hong Kong’s government has rejected a bill that would have recognized same-sex partnerships.
In Hong Kong, the constitution defines "marriage" as being between a man and a woman.
But in 2018, Jimmy Sham, a pro-democracy activist, sued the government for not recognizing same-sex marriage.
Sham, who is gay, married his partner in the US in 2013, but his marriage was not legally recognized in Hong Kong.
He had argued that this is unconstitutional and brought the case forward in 2018.
In September 2023, when he was in prison under the national security law, the court had ruled in his favor, finding that the government must provide a legal framework to recognize same-sex partnerships, as there are currently no options like civil unions.
The government then proposed a framework in July for registering same-sex couples who had gotten married or formed a civil union abroad.
If passed, the bill would have given registered same-sex couples the right to make medical decisions and handle post-death arrangements for their partners.
But on Wednesday, Sept. 10, Hong Kong’s parliament rejected the bill by 71 votes to 14 with one abstention.
It was the first time that the parliament had rejected a government bill after China imposed the National Security Law on Hong Kong in 2020 and its subsequent political repression.
Isha Jain
