People take part in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender parade in Hong Kong on Nov. 6. Hong Kong鈥檚 streets were colored by rainbow flags as protesters marched in the city鈥檚 annual gay pride parade to call for equality and same-sex marriage. AFP
HONG KONG, China鈥擧ong Kong鈥檚 streets were a sea of rainbow flags on Saturday as protesters marched in the city鈥檚 annual gay pride parade to call for equality and same-sex marriage.
Around a thousand demonstrators paraded through downtown Hong Kong, with many complaining that the city lags behind other major Asian hubs in terms of LGBT rights.
鈥淭here鈥檚 still a lot of room to improve, compared to Taiwan and even to Japan,鈥� Carol Yung, a 40-year-old marketing officer in the music industry, told AFP.
鈥淭hese days they are 鈥� already discussing about same-sex marriage, but in Hong Kong we鈥檙e still very far behind,鈥� Yung said.
Taiwan, which held a massive pride parade attended by nearly 80,000 people last month, is one of the most progressive Asian countries when it comes to homosexuality, but a bill to make same-sex marriage legal has been stalled in parliament since it was first proposed in 2013.
Hong Kong鈥檚 LGBT community has for years sought a ban on discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.
LGBT issues are in the spotlight again this month after comments from the city鈥檚 Catholic bishop, which angered many in the community.
Cardinal John Tong, in a letter published Thursday, said concepts of marriage and family were being 鈥渃hallenged鈥� by what he called 鈥渢he gay movement.鈥�
If a Sexual Orientation Discrimination Ordinance were enacted, or gay marriage legalized 鈥渢his would force our society into undergoing a change that would turn it upside-down,鈥� Tong said.
In another development, the judgement for a landmark court case, in which a gay British woman challenged the government鈥檚 refusal to grant her a visa to live in the territory with her partner, is expected in November.
QT, as she is referred to in court, had called the authorities鈥� decision to be 鈥渄iscriminatory.鈥� She entered into a civil partnership in Britain in 2011 and moved to Hong Kong in the same year after her partner was offered a job in the city.
One of Saturday鈥檚 marchers, Mark Green, 54, who works in the city鈥檚 fashion industry, told AFP however that things were progressing.
鈥淚 think Hong Kong is making enormous progress. We鈥檙e seeing changes 鈥� in the way that people react and respond to gay people in the work place and society,鈥澛燝reen said.
But 鈥渢he government is really a little bit behind the times when it comes to recognizing LGBT rights,鈥� he said, adding that even China recognizes the need to give same-sex couples dependent visas.