This comes as Beijing separately indicates it will not take inspiration from Taiwan’s thought-leadership and legalise same-sex marriage in the PRC.
The Government of Hong Kong again demonstrates its narrow and non-inclusive thinking, as its lawyers in a landmark same-sex marriage court case argue that allowing same-sex couples to wed would leave marriage ‘no longer special’ and ‘diluted and diminished’.
A lesbian woman, known as MK, is arguing in Hong Kong’s High Court that preventing her from forming a partnership contravenes her rights to equality and privacy. But, on Wednesday (29 May), government lawyer Stuart Wong said: ‘Not all differences in treatment are unlawful. You are not supposed to treat unequal cases alike’. Wong also dismissed calls for same-sex civil partnerships as an alternative to marriage.
Potentially revealing from where this thinking may originate, Beijing on the same day signalled that it would not take inspiration from Taiwan’s thought- and legislative-leadership in creating a formalised marriage structure for its LGBT citizens. Last week, Taiwan made history as the first in Asia to register same-sex couples’ marriages. Whereupon, the spokesperson for China’s policy-making Taiwan Affairs Office said, we have ‘noted reports on the island’ about same-sex marriage. ‘The mainland has a marriage system of one man, one woman’ he said, according to Reuters.
[ insert hyperlink on “Reuters” to https://www.openlynews.com/i/?id=65bc4007-2354-4278-938d-49cbeeae7522 ]
The Government of Hong Kong again demonstrates its narrow and non-inclusive thinking, as its lawyers in a landmark same-sex marriage court case argue that allowing same-sex couples to wed would leave marriage ‘no longer special’ and ‘diluted and diminished’.
A lesbian woman, known as MK, is arguing in Hong Kong’s High Court that preventing her from forming a partnership contravenes her rights to equality and privacy. But, on Wednesday (29 May), government lawyer Stuart Wong said: ‘Not all differences in treatment are unlawful. You are not supposed to treat unequal cases alike’. Wong also dismissed calls for same-sex civil partnerships as an alternative to marriage.
Potentially revealing from where this thinking may originate, Beijing on the same day signalled that it would not take inspiration from Taiwan’s thought- and legislative-leadership in creating a formalised marriage structure for its LGBT citizens. Last week, Taiwan made history as the first in Asia to register same-sex couples’ marriages. Whereupon, the spokesperson for China’s policy-making Taiwan Affairs Office said, we have ‘noted reports on the island’ about same-sex marriage. ‘The mainland has a marriage system of one man, one woman’ he said, according to Reuters.
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Remember the old days when hetero, married men took on mistresses? Remember the days when men were higher on the social ladder than women? Remember when marriages were arranged? Remember when there was no real love in a relationship because the parents ruled the family and the kids did as the parents said? Oh, how "special" were those marriages? At least with gay marriages, no one influences the marriages. Two people are marrying out of love for one another. They respect each other and want to be together. They a devoted to the marriage. They aspire to greater things than what tradition dictates to them.
Fortunately, there is change coming. The younger generations that are changing Chinese culture to a more western thinking culture is taking the place of the old guard. These young people are much more open to sexuality, in all of it's forms. They are accepting of their gay classmates. As a teacher, I see it every year. More and more gay boys and girls, despite their age, are coming out to their classmates, and their classmates are becoming more accepting of it. Just as hetero teen relationships are growing and becoming more open. Sure, the education system, Chinese teachers and administrators, and parents are furious when they see such things. And, they do everything they can to stop such relationships. But, "love" is more powerful than anything these people have to combat it. As time marches forward, and Chinese cultures and traditions are replaced with a more open, western thinking, the old ways will crumble, giving way to new lifestyles and new definitions of love and marriage. At least there appears to be hope.
On a more practical matter, if two gay men marry, that means more income for the family. In a society where money is king, and parents are concerned with their caretaking children being able to support them, this is logical to accept. Men make more money than women in China. When a hetero woman marries and has a child, she is often resigned to becoming a stay at home mother, giving up her career and salary producing life. A family with two gay men married is double a higher income that can be used for a higher quality of elder care for the parents. And, with the number of orphanages in China, these married gay couples can adopt these children and provide the less fortunate children a chance at a much more rich life. You want to talk about "special". That is really "special".
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