Hong Kong's government proposed legislation this summer to recognise some rights for same-sex partners, but only for those whose unions are registered abroad.
Despite LGBTQ activists decrying its limitations, the proposal drew near-universal criticism from the pro-Beijing politicians that dominate Hong Kong's legislature.
Only around a dozen lawmakers within the 89-member council have publicly declared their support so far.
"How far will Hong Kong lag behind? Today is a key moment," LGBTQ activist Jimmy Sham told AFP, noting that other Asian jurisdictions have set up legal protections for same-sex couples.
Sham launched a legal bid for Hong Kong to recognise same-sex marriage in 2023, but it was quashed by the city's top court.
However, the court ordered the government to create an "alternative framework" for LGBTQ couples -- the subject of Wednesday's vote.
Sham was sitting in the legislature's public gallery ahead of the vote, closely watched by security guards.
"Persevering in (LGBTQ activism) for such a long time increasingly requires a kind of naivete," he said.
The government has stressed that marriages in Hong Kong will remain defined as a union between a man and a woman, but in July proposed a registration system for same-sex couples whose partnership is legally recognised abroad.
Registered couples will enjoy more rights in medical-related matters and after-death arrangements -- for example, visiting a partner in hospital or claiming their body after death.
Despite the bill falling "significantly short of international human rights standards", Amnesty International urged lawmakers to adopt it as a step forward.
- 'Stable and harmonious' -
The current batch of Hong Kong lawmakers has never shot down a government bill.
But in a rare rift, the proposal has been condemned by the city's top three pro-establishment parties, who say it defies traditional family values.
Same-sex marriage is not legal in China and social stigma remains widespread.
Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China with its own legislature and a mini-constitution that guarantees a "high degree of autonomy".
However, the city's once vibrant political opposition and civil society have been effectively silenced since Beijing introduced a sweeping national security law in 2020.
Authorities gave the public seven days to write in with their views on Wednesday's bill.
Of the 10,800 submissions received, 80 percent were against, according to the government.
The findings sharply contrast with a 2023 survey carried out by three universities that found 60 percent of those polled support same-sex marriage.
Advocacy group Hong Kong Marriage Equality said around half the submissions opposing the bill used templates that indicate "strong mobilisation by specific groups".
"(The government) must not allow people with ulterior motives to wield slogans of equality to threaten Hong Kong's stable and harmonious society," read one.
Outside the legislature on Wednesday morning, two members of a religious group displayed a banner calling on lawmakers to keep marriage between heterosexual couples.
A joint letter issued Monday and signed by 30 Asian LGBTQ rights groups called on the government to "publicly disclose a contingency plan" and introduce a revised proposal if the bill is vetoed.
Hong Kong court sides with lesbian woman in IVF case
Hong Kong Sept 9, 2025 -
A Hong Kong judge on Tuesday ruled in favour of a lesbian woman who sought to have her partner registered as a "parent" on the birth certificate of their child born via reciprocal IVF.
Reciprocal in vitro fertilisation (RIVF) allows two women to share in the process of childbearing -- one woman's egg, fertilised externally with the aid of a sperm donor, is transferred to the other who carries the pregnancy to term.
The couple, who were granted anonymity by the court, had already won a 2023 legal bid so that the woman initially denied legal status was recognised as a "parent at common law".
The judge ruled at the time that the city's family laws were a form of discrimination.
However, the Department of Justice refused to re-register the birth, with officials saying there was "no legal basis whatsoever" for the change -- prompting the couple to sue the government again.
On Tuesday High Court judge Russell Coleman ruled not having both women listed on the birth certificate would "seriously interfere" with the child's rights.
He cited the example of administrators seeking a parent's decision in urgent medical treatment.
The absence of official registration for one of the women "will at least likely cause real doubt as to whether she is a parent within the family unit", he said.
The child would experience "some inconvenience, embarrassment, and potential harm to his dignity" as a result, he added.
The judge asked both sides to make further arguments as to the remedy and to come up with a timetable.
The court had recognised that the child's rights to equal protection were infringed and such a declaration was "helpful", the couple told AFP in a statement.
RIVF was introduced in the late 2000s and can now be performed without restriction in more than a dozen European countries, according to an academic survey.
As Hong Kong does not recognise same-sex marriages, the two women in the case were married and underwent RIVF in South Africa.
Hong Kong's legal battles over LGBTQ rights: key dates
Hong Kong (AFP) Sept 9, 2025 -
Hong Kong's lawmakers will debate and vote on a government proposal granting limited rights to same-sex couples on Wednesday, a high-stakes moment for LGBTQ equality in the city.
The Chinese city does not permit same-sex marriage, but activists have won piecemeal victories in court that struck down discriminatory policies on visas, taxes, inheritance and housing.
Here are some key dates:
- 1991: Decriminalisation -
Hong Kong's colonial-era lawmakers in 1991 voted to decriminalise consensual sexual acts between men aged 21 or above, belatedly following Britain's lead.
After the city was handed back to China in 1997, LGBTQ activists found limited success in a legislature packed with Beijing loyalists, and proposals for an anti-discrimination law on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity went nowhere.
- 2006-2008: Early successes -
The case of Leung TC William Roy, which went to the Court of Appeal, helped lay the groundwork for LGBTQ rights protection under the Basic Law, Hong Kong's mini-constitution.
Appeal judges ruled in September 2006 that the Basic Law and Hong Kong's Bill of Rights should be read in a way that prohibited unlawful discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
In the 2008 case of Cho Man-kit, the court said Hong Kong's Broadcasting Authority was wrong to publicly criticise a television documentary that featured same-sex marriage.
- 2013 onwards: Trans rights -
Hong Kong's top court in 2013 ruled in favour of a transgender woman's right to marry -- a stance considered progressive compared with other Asian jurisdictions at the time.
The plaintiff had completed gender confirmation surgery and should count as a woman for the purposes of getting married, which would allow her to marry a man, the judges said.
In 2023, the Court of Final Appeal ruled that a transgender person can apply to change the "sex entry" on their Hong Kong identity card without having to fully complete surgery -- though activists say the government has not fully amended its policy to reflect the court's demands.
- 2018 onwards: Incremental wins -
Legal challenges in the late 2010s showed a pattern of activists targeting smaller wins to increase their chances of success.
Many of their arguments focused on how certain Hong Kong government policies treated same-sex couples differently from opposite-sex couples without good reason.
This led to the Court of Final Appeal siding with same-sex couples on issues such as spousal visas in 2018 and joint taxation in 2019.
- 2023: Same-sex marriage bid -
Jimmy Sham, a pro-democracy activist known for advocating LGBTQ rights, asked the court to strike down Hong Kong's ban on same-sex marriage -- a move considered more ambitious than previous legal bids.
On September 5, 2023, by a 3-2 vote, Hong Kong's top judges rejected same-sex marriage but ordered the government to set up an "alternative legal framework" to protect same-sex couples' rights within two years.
Sham was one of 45 democracy campaigners jailed after being found guilty of subversion under a Beijing-imposed national security law, though his case was not directly related to LGBTQ advocacy.
- 2024: More gains -
Hong Kong's top court ruled against the government to affirm housing and inheritance rights for same-sex couples.
Resident Nick Infinger went to court over a policy that excluded him and his partner from public rental housing on the grounds they were not an "ordinary family".
The case was later heard together with that of Henry Li and his late husband, Edgar Ng, who challenged government policies on subsidised housing and inheritance rules.
- 2025: Government bill -
With just months to go until the court-imposed deadline, Hong Kong officials unveiled a bill in July to recognise limited rights for same-sex couples whose unions are registered abroad.
The bill only covers medical-related matters and after-death arrangements, drawing criticism from some LGBTQ rights advocates.
The public was given just seven days to write in with their views on the bill which is before the Legislative Council for second and third readings on Wednesday.
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