It looks like it will be a good year for the LGBTI community in Hong Kong. The city's government now supports discriminatory policies against gay couples and the court finds the refusal to give dependency visa to same-sex partners unlawful.
After the colorful Pride March in London, Hong Kong made a significant move to support diversity in the country in the same week. The top court ruled to "uphold discriminatory policies" against gay couples in an effort made by the city's government. Also, it declared the Immigration Department's refusal to give dependency visas to same-sex couples as against the law.
According to the South China Morning Post, the recent judgment given by the Court of Final Appeal was not only a victory for the LGBTI community. It was also because of the argumentation the five judges used that received "unanimous decision." The ruling would give the government a hard time to "pursue discriminatory policies" in the future. Also, it would probably put an impact on the regime aside from giving dependency visas.
To recall, a woman, who was only named Mk, sued the Hong Kong government for not allowing her to be in a same-sex civil partnership with her partner. She filed a petition to the High Court in June, but it was only on August 24 when it started the preliminary hearing, per Gay Star News.
She insisted the government's move to stop her from being in a civil partnership is violating her privacy and equality rights. Her lawyers, on the other hand, argued it is a breach of the "Basic Law and the Bill of Rights."
Hence, the High Court's recent ruling is insinuating implications for Hong Kong. The country is still not supporting same-sex marriage or even recognizing civil partnerships. So the government's lawyers are asking more time to "put together" the cases like this.
Mk's lawyers maintained all citizens have the right to be in official partnerships. They asserted they wanted everyone to have legal status no matter what is their sexual orientation.
The members of the LGBTI community already took their request for a fair judgment and equal treatment to the courts. It is because they noticed the city's government showed no interest to change its policies or even amend its law about discrimination.
If there would be any progress or changes, they believe it would come from the courts' decisions. So the recent ruling gave them hope, and they are still waiting for more improvements.
