Hong Kong (Photo by Alkhairul/Bigstock)
Lawmakers in Hong Kong on Sept. 10 overwhelmingly rejected a bill that would have extended limited legal rights to same-sex couples.
The New York Times notes 71 of the Legislative Council’s 89 members voted against the measure that would have allowed same-sex couples who either legally married or entered into a civil union overseas to register their partnerships in Hong Kong. The measure, among other things, would have allowed registered same-sex partners to make medical decisions on each other’s behalf.
The Hong Kong Court of Appeal in September 2023 ordered the government to establish a system through which same-sex couples can legally register their partnerships.
The Washington Blade previously reported Jimmy Sham, a pro-democracy activist who married his partner in the U.S. more than a decade ago, challenged Hong Kong’s refusal to recognize his marriage. The Court of Appeal gave the territory’s government an Oct. 27 deadline to act.
An activist with whom the Blade spoke last month said Beijing is “unlikely to interfere.”
Same-sex couples can legally marry in Taiwan, Nepal, and Thailand. Several Japanese courts in recent years have ruled the country’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.
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