Hong Kong's Same-Sex Partnership Legal Recognition Falters

Yick was born and raised in Hong Kong before moving to Canada, where he eventually met and married his husband. They returned to the city together in 2013.

“It would still have to go through all the courts, which was unnecessary, but once the decision was handed down, we saw the change,” he said.

So when the Court of Final Appeal ruled in 2023 that the government had a positive obligation to recognise same-sex partnerships in the city, there was reason for optimism.

But by the time the government’s bill made its way to Legco two years later, Yick had the feeling legal recognition was not going to happen. In the year since the bill was rejected, the pace of change had slowed considerably, he said.