Hong Kong newlyweds lament veto on same-sex rights bill as blow to city

By Jessie Pang and Joyce Zhou

HONG KONG (Reuters) -Lesbian newlyweds Jaedyn Yu and Gloria Tsang believe a recent ruling by Hong Kong to veto a bill that would have allowed limited legal rights for same-sex couples shows how the city lags internationally on human rights.

The bill represented an opportunity to implement what would have been a rare liberal shift in Hong Kong’s legal landscape, amid a years-long crackdown on dissent and the city’s pro-democracy opposition under a China-imposed national security law.

Yu and Tsang, who have been together for around five years, met thanks to their shared passion for music – Yu, 35, is a drummer and Tsang, 33, a vocal percussionist.

Unable to marry legally in Hong Kong as a same-sex couple, they finally settled on tying the knot via Zoom with a U.S. officiant based in Utah as friends and family celebrated with them at their wedding in Bali, Indonesia, in May this year.

They believe the lack of broader rights for LGBT people in Hong Kong hampers the financial hub’s ability to attract talent.

“I think Hong Kong prides itself on being an international city and if we look around the world in terms of what international cities have, I don’t think we are up to par,” Yu said.

The couple said they were disappointed but not surprised that Hong Kong’s Legislative Council last week vetoed the bill that would have granted limited legal rights for same-sex couples who had registered their marriage or relationship overseas, as it had faced strong opposition from some pro-Beijing legislators.

“This doesn’t affect just the LGBT community … people with the values of equality, they would hesitate to come to Hong Kong because they might have kids of different sexual orientation,” Tsang said.

Since tying the knot, Yu and Tsang now hope that by being open about their relationship, they can help create a more accepting society in Hong Kong.

“It is a formal relationship … I just wish that more people would be less scared of it and then hopefully society would be more accepting,” Yu said.

($1 = 7.7802 Hong Kong dollars)

(Reporting by Jessie Pang and Joyce Zhou; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree and Kim Coghill)