Campaigners for LGBT rights have hit out at Hong Kong’s government after it announced it would appeal against a landmark decision granting a British lesbian the right to live and work in the territory with her partner.
The court of appeal’s ruling in September sparked hopes that hurdles for same-sex couples might be reduced in socially conservative Hong Kong .
The immigration department, however, has announced it will seek to take the case to the court of final appeal, Hong Kong’s highest seat of judgment.
“Having studied the court of appeal’s judgment and sought legal advice, the immigration department has filed an application for leave to appeal against the judgment,” it said in a statement on Thursday.
The September decision granted the woman, referred to in court only as QT, the right to a dependant visa which immigration authorities had denied her, meaning she could only remain on a visitor visa which did not allow her to work.
The judgement ruled that the authorities had “failed to justify the indirect discrimination on account of sexual orientation that QT suffers”.
Campaigners described it as a crucial step for Hong Kong, which they say lags on LGBT rights. It does not recognise gay marriage and only decriminalised homosexuality in 1991.
The legislator Ray Chan, who is gay, said that if the immigration department won its case, it would “not benefit anybody”.
He also criticised the government for failing to openly support Hong Kong’s successful bid to host the Gay Games in 2022, announced on Tuesday, the first time the event will come to Asia.
“The government would rather spend taxpayers’ money to appeal a case which in my view does not contribute to society or benefit anybody if won, than to support a major international sports, culture, and tourism event such as the Gay Games,” he said.
The government said in a statement that it had noted the successful Gay Games bid, and that it was “committed to promoting equal opportunities”.
The campaigner Gigi Chao said the current administration’s focus on family values tended to exclude the LGBT community. “They’re never included and never discussed,” she said.
Chao also disputed some critics’ argument that the LGBT community is at odds with traditional Chinese values. “If you look at all the cultural references from historic Chinese opera and storytelling, a lot of stories have covered this topic,” she said.
Chao made global headlines in 2012 when her father, a Hong Kong tycoon, offered HK$500m (£50m) to any man that could convince his openly gay daughter to marry him.
Hong Kong’s Equal Opportunities Council said it was pleased the government’s policy agenda had said it would work on LGBT equality, but that authorities were yet to follow its 2016 recommendation to start consulting on introducing “comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation” to cover sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status.