More than 10,000 people have marched in Hong Kong’s annual Pride parade, which this year employed the theme ‘Turn the tide, walk with Pride – discrimination says goodbye’ to urge the government to improve LGBT+ rights.
Homosexuality was decriminalised in Hong Kong in 1991 but there is still a lack of anti-discrimination protections in place for the LGBT+ community, same-sex couples have no legal recognition and are unable to adopt children.
“We see more and more people in this generation supporting equal rights, including marriage equality,” activist Nathan Law Kwun-chung said on stage in a speech. “We need legislators to press for LGBT rights.”
A 14-year-old activist told AFP that it was crucial that Hong Kong’s LGBT community speak out against discrimination.
“There are many people with traditional mindsets here, so for the LGBT community, many people should… start speaking out for themselves or else there will be no freedom and we won’t have our own rights,” the teenager said.
Hong Kong was recently announced as the 2022 host of the Gay Games—the first Asian country that’s been given that honour.
There are hopes that the event will encourage the government to pass LGBT+ inclusive legislation.
“I think winning the Gay Games will be an opportune push for the Government to speed up its work on improving the human rights of Hong Kong’s LGBT citizens, who only wish to be respected, protected, treated as equal members of society,” said openly gay Hong Kong parliamentarian Chi Chuen Ray Chan.
