Since the Chinese government imposed a major overhaul of Hong Kong’s political system four years ago, the city’s legislature has been stacked with loyalists who have sided with the government on almost every issue.
But there is one law proposed by the Hong Kong government that faces opposition from a large number of lawmakers. It’s a bill that would recognize same-sex partnerships and provide people in such relationships with rights such as the authority to make medical decisions on behalf of their partners.
Nearly half of the city’s 89 legislators have indicated they would vote against the bill, which will be debated again on Wednesday, while only a handful have declared support. Holden Chow, the vice chair of the city’s largest pro-Beijing party said that the bill could “result in dire consequences” for traditional Chinese family values.
Hong Kong does not recognize same-sex marriage. The proposed law would allow only same-sex couples who married or entered a civil union overseas to register as lawful couples in Hong Kong, and extends rights to such individuals in a limited way.
Once registered, people in same-sex relationships would be entitled to rights related to the medical matters involving their partners, including taking part in medical decisions. They would also be allowed to make arrangements if their partners died, including burial, cremation and the keeping of ashes.
The bill does not cover parental or adoption rights, nor does it directly address public welfare benefits for couples.
The opposition to the bill has dismayed activists who say it is an important step forward, even if it falls far short of similar laws elsewhere. Taiwan’s government became the first in Asia to to legalize same-sex marriage in 2019. Nepal and Thailand followed in 2023 and 2025.
Supporters argue that recognizing same-sex couples would be good for Hong Kong’s reputation as an international financial hub.
“If you’re trying to attract people from different parts of the world — this is part of what you have to deal with, because people have families and partners,” said Denise Tang, the head of cultural studies at Lingnan University, who researches lesbians and aging in Hong Kong. She said the opposition to the bill goes against public opinion in the city.
The most recent study on the topic, published in 2023, showed that 60 percent of people in Hong Kong supported same-sex marriage, compared with 50 percent in 2017 and 38 percent in 2013.
The political opposition has put Hong Kong’s leader, John Lee, in an awkward spot. The city’s top court had ordered the government to pass legislation recognizing same-sex couples’ rights by this fall. Mr. Lee has encouraged lawmakers to pass the bill, arguing that the rule of law is the cornerstone of Hong Kong’s success.
But he has also said that the government would ultimately respect the final decision of the legislature, and it was unclear what would happen if the legislature votes down the proposal.
Hong Kong courts have in recent years granted small victories to residents who had married their same-sex partners abroad, upholding their rights to spousal visas and benefits related to taxation, public housing and inheritance.
In a landmark case, the activist Jimmy Sham challenged the lack of recognition and protections for same-sex couples in 2018. In its ruling in 2023, the city’s highest court said that the government had an obligation to establish an “alternate” framework that legally recognizes same-sex couples, “dispelling any sense that they belong to an inferior class of persons whose relationship is undeserving of recognition.”
Still, the court upheld the legal definition of marriage as a monogamous union between a man and a woman in the model of a “Christian marriage or its civil equivalent.” The courts gave the government two years to draft and pass a framework.
“What we want is an equal opportunity to core rights,” Mr. Sham said in a recent phone interview. “I really hope that there would be room for improvement in the future.”
Mr. Chow, the vice chair of the pro-establishment Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, said that the authorities should deal with issues like after-death arrangements with specific administrative measures, rather than legal recognition. He described the bill as a de facto recognition of same-sex marriage, which risked “opening a Pandora’s box” of related “issues,” such as same-sex adoptions.
But Paul Tse, another lawmaker who does not support same-sex marriage, said he would support the bill because he believed in upholding the rule of law.
Nick Infinger is a social worker who successfully sued the government after he and his husband, whom he married in Canada, were denied public housing. He said in an interview that he hoped the bill could pass in spite of its limited scope.
Many Chinese parents have trouble accepting that their children are gay because they worry about them being shunned by society, he added. He hopes that greater legal protection could help them feel more assured.
“It’s something I didn’t have, so I hope future generations can have it,” he said.
Tiffany May is a reporter based in Hong Kong, covering the politics, business and culture of the city and the broader region.
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