Bill on same-sex partnerships goes before parliament
A court forced Hong Kong to act, and in 2025 the bill reached parliament. In the end it was rejected.
On 16 July 2025, the Hong Kong government introduced a bill for the registration of same-sex partnerships in the Legislative Council (LegCo) for the first time. It was the first reading; the second reading began on the same day and was adjourned.
It had been preceded by a court ruling. On 5 September 2023, the Court of Final Appeal, Hong Kong's highest court, found in the case of Sham Tsz Kit v. Secretary for Justice that the lack of a legal framework for same-sex couples violated Article 14 of the Hong Kong Bill of Rights (protection of privacy). The court gave the government two years to remedy the situation. The applicant was the well-known democracy and LGBTIQ activist Jimmy Sham.
The bill deliberately did not go far: it provided for neither marriage nor partnerships concluded in Hong Kong itself, only for the recognition of marriages or partnerships entered into abroad. At least one person had to be resident in Hong Kong. Recognised couples would have received limited rights, for instance in medical decisions, hospital visits, organ donation and the handling of the deceased person's body.
The bill stirred strong public feeling: the parliamentary secretariat received over 10,000 submissions, more than for any other bill since the electoral reform of 2021. Among the published submissions, more than 70 per cent opposed the law. Chief Executive John Lee supported the bill: failing to comply with the court's order would have serious consequences for the rule of law.
Despite a pro-government majority, the bill met broad opposition from the conservative camp. On 10 September 2025 it was rejected at second reading by 71 votes to 14, the first government bill the Legislative Council had voted down since 2021.