Govt Fight Against Gay Rights Is Futile: Ray Chan

Legislator Ray Chan on Thursday urged the government to stop fighting LGBT equality lawsuits in the city, in light of a Court of Final Appeal (CFA) ruling which has granted spousal benefits to the same-sex partners of civil servants.

Chan, who is the sole openly gay member of the Legislative Council, said it is becoming increasingly clear that in the eyes of Hong Kong's courts, the LGBT community should not be treated unequally before the law.

"I think the judgement of the CFA can give a very strong stand for us to fight another battle, another war on LGBT equality," Chan said.

He added that he thinks the ruling bodes well for other equality cases currently going through the courts.

"I think the judgement can help give us more confidence to win these cases. We will continue our efforts to fight for our basic human rights."

The court victory for immigration officer Leung Chun-kwong, who married his husband in New Zealand in 2014, follows a number of other rulings in favour of LGBT rights.

Last year, a British woman won the right to be given a dependant visa to join her female partner who had come to Hong Kong for work, while last week the High Court struck down a number of criminal offences that only targeted gay men.

The High Court has also just finished hearing a case involving the legalisation of gay marriage, with the ruling yet to be given, and two similar legal challenges are also pending.