CHINA: Hong Kong's 5th Gay Pride march draws record numbers following an outcry over a government vote against public consultation on sex discrimination laws

Record ID: 277737

  • Title: CHINA: Hong Kong's 5th Gay Pride march draws record numbers following an outcry over a government vote against public consultation on sex discrimination laws
  • Date: 10th November 2012
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS WITH RAINBOW FLAG
  • Embargoed: 25th November 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Hong Kong, China
  • City:
  • Country: Hong Kong
  • Topics: Quirky,Politics,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVA6R3OJGV7HKL31RS8W3J43ZOK2
  • Story Text: An estimated 4,000 people joined Hong Kong's Gay Pride Parade on Saturday (November 10) following an outcry over a government vote against public consultation on sex discrimination laws.
    On Wednesday (November 7), Hong Kong lawmakers rejected a motion calling for a public consultation on new laws to protect the rights of sexual minorities.
    There were calls to end work-place discrimination and for the legalisation of gay marriage.
    "It's very infuriating. So basically what they are saying is, we don't want this legislation to protect these sexual minorities because we want to protect the right for people to discriminate. And I think it just became such a, it became a trigger point when people just felt, when people who were just saying, ' well, maybe we are not ready to be that political' it really prompted them to say 'that's it, we've really got to do something," said Reggie Ho, chairman of the "Pink Alliance."
    The march, organised by various LGBT activist groups, openly-gay legislator Raymond Chan, and Hong Kong celebrities, made its way through Hong Kong's financial district in an array of colourful costumes..
    This year's parade drew participants from across Asia, where in some countries homosexuality is still illegal.
    Among them is a group of masked men and women from Fujian province in mainland China where.
    "You know, and it's much harder to live there in the Mainland. So people, the gays/les, they live under the mask. And we just hope one day we could just, like, hang out like the straight guys. And just hang out, just watch movies, just hands on hands, and just let our love bloom under the sunshine," said one marcher who gave his name as "Ozzie."
    Hong Kong, a freewheeling city that reverted from British to Chinese rule in 1997, retains a traditional Chinese social fabric but is considered relatively tolerant of alternative lifestyles compared with the rest of Asia. It decriminalized homosexuality in 1991.
    It has gay social venues, film festivals and gay pride parades, making it a bastion of liberalism compared with China, where homosexuality was defined as a mental disorder until 2001.
    "I want to show people, like, Hong Kong people, like, stand up, be gay, be happy. Because I think my personality more like, I can make the crowd happy. So I just a little boy, but I think it should be like that. Have just a little boy stand up 'I'm gay' and let people, like, 'oh, I want to be this guy', or maybe it's like an idol for the young, gay people, they should be learning how to be gay, or comfortable being gay," said Hei Hei, the winner of Mr. Gay Hong Kong 2010.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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