Hong Kong's LGBT+ community calls for new top judge to work with them

Wednesday, 1 April 2020 10:48 GMT

ARCHIVE PHOTO: Participants hold a giant rainbow flag during a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Pride Parade in Hong Kong November 8, 2014. Participants from the LGBT communities took to the streets on Saturday to demonstrate for their rights. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

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Andrew Cheung Kui-nung, who has ruled against LGBT+ couples before, was chosen by Hong Kong's chief executive as chief justice

By Michael Taylor

KUALA LUMPUR, April 1 (Openly) - Hong Kong's LGBT+ community urged the territory's new top judge to work with them as they campaign for the recognition of same-sex marriage and to stop widespread discrimination.

Hong Kong's chief executive last week chose Justice Andrew Cheung Kui-nung to be the next chief justice of the court of final appeal, although the appointment - which is due to begin in January - needs to be endorsed by the Legislative Council.

Cheung has previously ruled against transgender and same-sex couples in several legal challenges.

LGBT+ activists said it was vital not to underplay the importance of courts as the key means to bring about change or challenge policy.

"In Hong Kong, there are very limited ways to advocate LGBT+ human rights," Tommy Chen, spokesman at advocacy Rainbow Action, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation on Wednesday.

"Since 1997, filing a judicial review has become a main way LGBT+ people to advocate for our rights."

Both the Hong Kong Bar Association and the Hong Kong Law Society welcomed the appointment, with the latter praising Cheung's "distinguished record" of judicial service since being appointed a district judge in 2001.

"Cheung is widely recognized for his dedication, integrity, professionalism and leadership," the Society said in a statement, adding it was confident he would continue to "head an independent judiciary upholding the rule of law".

A spokesman for Hong Kong's judiciary declined to comment.

Hong Kong – which returned to Chinese rule in 1997 - decriminalized homosexuality in 1991 and the city has an annual pride parade and a lively gay scene.

It does not, however, recognize same-sex marriage and LGBT+ activists voice concerns about widespread discrimination.

Several legal challenges have resulted in gradual progress for LGBT+ people including the right to obtain visas for dependants and spousal benefits for same-sex partners.

Last month a Hong Kong court ruled that married same-sex couples have the right to apply for public housing.

Billy Leung, a Hong Kong LGBT+ activist who has previously been involved in anti-discrimination court challenges, said there were some concerns that Cheung's appointment could "tip the scale of progressiveness" in LGBT+ legal cases.

But Doriane Lau, China Researcher at Amnesty International Amnesty, said she did not see a direct impact of the appointment on the LGBT+ community.

"The government's refusal to recognize rights of LGBT+ people and its inaction to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity are the main reasons for the community to challenge government policies via the judicial route," she said.

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(Reporting by Michael Taylor @MickSTaylor; Editing by Belinda Goldsmith Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers the lives of people around the world who struggle to live freely or fairly. Visit http://news.trust.org)

Openly is an initiative of the Thomson Reuters Foundation dedicated to impartial coverage of LGBT+ issues from around the world.

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