The invoice, which granted restricted authorized rights to {couples} registered abroad, was voted down by lawmakers 71 to 14.
Revealed On 10 Sep 2025
A Hong Kong invoice that proposed restricted authorized rights to same-sex {couples} has been voted down by lawmakers within the Chinese language semi-autonomous metropolis’s Legislative Council.
The invoice had proposed to permit residents who’ve already shaped unions abroad to register their partnerships regionally and to grant them rights in dealing with medical and funeral issues.
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That included the power to entry their companions’ medical data and take part in medical choices with consent, and declare their deceased companions’ stays.
“At this time is a disappointing day for Hong Kong,” advocacy group Hong Kong Marriage Equality mentioned in an announcement after the vote.
“(It) sends a troubling sign to each native and worldwide communities — that courtroom rulings could also be disregarded and the dignity of people ignored.”
The Registration of Similar-Intercourse Partnerships Invoice, unveiled in July, stemmed from one of many authorized victories that pushed the federal government to supply extra equal rights to gays and lesbians.
The federal government has pressured that marriages in Hong Kong will stay outlined as a union between a person and a girl, nevertheless it proposed a registration system for same-sex {couples} whose partnership is legally recognised overseas.
Nonetheless, the invoice met fierce opposition from lawmakers, although it adopted the highest courtroom’s 2023 ruling stating the federal government ought to present a framework for recognising such relationships and giving it two years to work out an answer.
Out of the lawmakers who attended the assembly, 71 voted towards the invoice, 14 permitted it, and one abstained.
‘Alarming disdain for LGBTQ rights’
Regardless of LGBT activists decrying its limitations, the invoice drew near-universal criticism from the pro-Beijing politicians that dominate Hong Kong’s legislature.
“The proposed invoice on same-sex partnerships was flawed, however in rejecting it, the federal government has proven an alarming disdain for [LGBTQ] rights,” Amnesty Worldwide mentioned after the vote.
“The failure of this invoice should not be the top … Quite the opposite, it must be the catalyst for the authorities to supply a stronger invoice.”
Similar-sex marriage shouldn’t be authorized in China, and social stigma stays widespread.
Hong Kong is a particular administrative area of China with its personal legislature and a mini-constitution that ensures a “excessive diploma of autonomy”.
Nonetheless, the town’s as soon as vibrant political opposition and civil society have been successfully silenced since Beijing launched a sweeping national security law in 2020.
Authorities gave the general public seven days to jot down in with their views on Wednesday’s invoice.
Of the ten,800 submissions acquired, 80 % have been towards it, in response to the federal government.
Hong Kong Marriage Equality mentioned that round half the submissions opposing the invoice used templates that point out “robust mobilisation by particular teams”.
The findings distinction with a 2023 survey carried out by three universities that discovered 60 % of these polled help same-sex marriage.
