LONDON ¨C In a region where no country allows gay or lesbian couples to marry, Hong Kong¡¯s Legislative Council on Thursday rejected a motion that could have paved the way to legalizing same-sex unions.
The measure, which would have urged the government to consider granting ¡°equal rights¡± to same-sex couples, was rejected by 27 votes to 24, with six abstentions, the council said on its website.
¡°The government keeps avoiding studying policies for homosexual groups,¡± the South China Morning Post, a Hong Kong newspaper, quoted gay lawmaker Raymond Chan, who proposed the motion, as saying.
¡°Opponents of this motion have to explain why they reject even such a small step forward.¡±
No country in Asia currently allows same-sex couples to marry or enter civil unions of any kind. Socially conservative attitudes prevail across the region, and opponents of same-sex marriage say such unions could destroy society and family institutions.
Homosexuality was decriminalized in 1991 in Hong Kong, which is more supportive of LGBT+ rights than mainland China. However, marriage is legally defined as a monogamous union between a man and a woman and same-sex marriage is not recognized.
Hong Kong said in September it would recognize overseas same-sex partnerships when granting dependent visas, a move that was supported by global banks and law firms operating in the former British colony.
Chan¡¯s motion would have urged the city¡¯s government ¡°to study the formulation of policies for homosexual couples to enter into a union so that they can enjoy equal rights as heterosexual couples.¡±
Lawmaker Priscilla Leung opposed Chan¡¯s motion on the grounds that Hong Kong should keep marriage between men and women and ¡°refrain from shaking existing marriage institutions.¡±
The self-ruled island of Taiwan, regarded as a beacon of liberalism in Asia, on Saturday will vote in a referendum on whether it should recognize same-sex marriage.
Taiwan¡¯s Constitutional Court said last year that same-sex couples have the right to legally marry, the first such ruling in Asia.
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