Hong Kong lawmakers veto invoice on same-sex partnerships

Hong Kong’s Legislative Council on Wednesday (September 10, 2025) vetoed a invoice that might have allowed restricted authorized rights for same-sex {couples} who had registered their marriage or relationship abroad, drawing criticism from homosexual rights teams.

The invoice, launched by the federal government, had proposed a registration system to grant same-sex {couples} who had already sealed their union abroad to sure rights comparable to hospital visitation.

The authorities made the proposal after a judgment by Hong Kong’s highest court docket in September 2023 that partially permitted a landmark authorized push for full recognition of same-sex marriages.

Although the Court of Final Appeal did not grant the constitutional proper to same-sex marriage, the 5 judges ordered the federal government to develop a authorized framework to satisfy fundamental social wants of similar intercourse {couples} inside two years.

The invoice had confronted sturdy opposition from some pro-Beijing legislators and non secular teams who say homosexual marriage erodes household values, and have demanded a postponement.

This was the primary time Hong Kong’s legislature, after being revamped to solely embody pro-Beijing patriots in 2021, had vetoed a invoice within the metropolis’s legislature in its present time period of workplace, with 71 lawmakers voting in opposition to, and 14 for the invoice.

“Today is a disappointing day for Hong Kong,” advocacy group Hong Kong Marriage Equality stated in a press release.

“(It) sends a troubling signal to both local and international communities — that court rulings may be disregarded and the dignity of individuals overlooked.”

The metropolis’s chief John Lee stated earlier that the federal government was legally sure to abide by the ruling, but in addition emphasised that “a lawful marriage in Hong Kong is between one man and one woman, and a monogamous and heterosexual marriage”.

Amnesty International and 30 homosexual rights teams in Asia had earlier issued a joint letter urging the federal government to “fully comply” with the highest court docket’s ruling by “establishing a comprehensive legal framework that recognizes same-sex partnerships and allows all same-sex couples to enter into a local, legally registered partnership”.

It’s not clear how the federal government will now search to adjust to its constitutional obligation to determine a authorized framework for recognising same-sex relationships, with some teams calling for the federal government to attraction for an extension of the deadline on October 27.

There was no quick remark from the Hong Kong authorities to a Reuters request for remark.