Hong Kong: Gays await official word on UK union

The Standard (Hong Kong)
Gays await official word on UK union

Legal recognition, or a costly divorce - all the joys and sorrows of a marriage could be the lot of many homosexual couples in Hong Kong, pending a decision from the Hong Kong government on whether or not the British Consulate can conduct civil unions on its premises.

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Legal recognition, or a costly divorce - all the joys and sorrows of a marriage could be the lot of many homosexual couples in Hong Kong, pending a decision from the Hong Kong government on whether or not the British Consulate can conduct civil unions on its premises.

According to the UK's Civil Partnership Act - which came into force last December - all "British nationals" can register for a same-sex civil union in a British embassy or consulate, as long as the local jurisdiction does not object.

This does not mean recognition under SAR law, but the UK consulate behind Pacific Place has already had several inquiries about the possible service, said its spokeswoman.

She said the consulate has so far been unable to offer such a service because of the lack of a formal "no objection" from the SAR government.

A Home Affairs Bureau Protocol Division spokeswoman said the government "is still considering the matter."

The decision would be particularly meaningful in Hong Kong, which is home to nearly four million British passport holders.

Japan, Vietnam, Venezuela, Turkmenistan, Colombia and Belarus are just a few of the countries where the local authorities have not objected to British embassies formalizing same-sex unions.

The Civil Partnership Act was passed in the UK in November 2004, and the consulate here had informed local authorities at least "before last December," the consulate spokeswoman said.

The consulate, however, is not giving up. "We hope that this is something that we can offer," she said.

Under the new law, homosexual couples in a civil union receive essentially the same rights in the UK as heterosexual marriage partners.

The BBC has estimated that 1,200 ceremonies have been scheduled to take place in the UK. Most famously, Elton John and David Furnish recently wed under the new law.

Any hesitancy from the Hong Kong government may relate to the fact that about 3.5 million Hong Kong citizens hold British National (Overseas) passports - the special traveling document granted to Hong Kongers who did not want to become SAR Chinese citizens - and about 200,000 full British citizens live in Hong Kong.

On the face of the the UK law - which makes reference to "British Nationals" - the different grades of citizenship should all be covered by the law, said the spokeswoman.

According to the consulate Web site: "British law allows for couples, where at least one partner is a British national, to register their partnership overseas, if the local authorities do not object to us doing so.

A request has been made to the Hong Kong authorities asking for agreement for us to provide this service in Hong Kong.

"We await the response. Until we have confirmation that the Hong Kong authorities are content, we will be unable to provide this service in Hong Kong."

The Web site provides details about how gay couples can effect a civil union in other countries with a British embassy or consulate.

Vietnam and Japan are the closest to Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong administration's lack of response, however, is puzzling given that the rights recognized be the UK law need not be recognized in Hong Kong, where the age of consent for homosexual intercourse is still at issue, let alone gay civil unions.

Bar Association chairman and Senior Counsel Philip Dykes said there's no difference between flying to England to be wed and having the union conducted in a consulate in Hong Kong.

"So what's the problem?" he asked. No Hong Kong government entity recognizes such partnerships sanctioned abroad.

Michael Vidler, who represented the litigant who won a court declaration that the current age of consent laws for homosexual intercourse were unconstitutional, said what happens in the British Consulate should not be subject to Hong Kong authorities.

The UK law notes that civil unions should be conducted after there is "no objection" from local authorities, but this should merely be a "diplomatic measure," said Vidler, since the intention cannot have been to empower local authorities to define what the embassies can or cannot do according to British law.

Gay activist and Civil Rights for Sexual Diversities chairman Roddy Shaw said he knew of gay British citizens who had made inquiries with the consulate and called the SAR's lack of response "very interesting."

"British subjects should be given their rights irrespective of their place [of residence]," Shaw said. "Not respecting those rights can be divisive for families."

But Helen Fu, of the conservative Catholic Society for Truth and Light, urged the government to deliberate further and gather public support before granting a "no objection" to the British Consulate, given the number of people that may be covered by the UK law.

Embracing controversial issues may "disrupt social harmony," she said.

Public debate about gay marriage in Hong Kong is almost non-existent, said Fu, and although her organization has no fixed policy on the issue, she stressed that society placed a lot of emphasis on "family values."

The diplomatic and policy deadlock brings to the surface the Hong Kong government's ambivalent attitudes to wards homosexuality. While homosexuality has been decriminalized since 1991, laws said to be discriminatory of gays have been left on the books.

Last August, Justice Michael Hartmann ruled that existing laws are "demeaning of gay men," stereotype them as "deviant," and interfere with their private lives on the assumption that homosexuality is "morally reprehensible."

The government is appealing that decision, and the hearing is scheduled in July.

Scandinavian countries as well as France, Belgium, New Zealand, Canada and Spain already allow gay civil unions.

The French Consulate said it offers a similar service for its nationals, though fewer than than three people a year take advantage of it.