More gay Hong Kong civil servants could marry abroad for spousal benefits, union says

Colleagues expected to ‘come out’ to claim their rights if landmark ruling for gay immigration officer seeking equal treatment for his spouse stands

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Protesters marching on Hong Kong Island last November during the annual Hong Kong Pride Parade. Photo: Dickson Lee

Published: 8:00pm, 1 May 2017Updated: 12:43pm, 26 May 2017

Hong Kong might see more gay government employees marrying overseas to claim the same benefits for their spouses as their heterosexual counterparts, civil service unions said, after a landmark court ruling opened the door for them.

The High Court last week ruled gay civil servants who tied the knot abroad should be entitled to welfare benefits for their spouses. It called the government policy “indirect discrimination” in the case of a gay immigration officer seeking equal treatment for his spouse.

Hong Kong Federation of Civil Service Unions CEO Leung Chau-ting said the government should blame no one if more gay public sector employees were to marry in other countries as it had been depriving them of their rights.

“They’re just getting back [the benefits] married couples are entitled to,” Leung said. “The government should not deprive them of their rights because of their sexual orientation. Hong Kong is a cosmopolitan city and should revise its relevant laws to protect their rights.”

The government should not deprive them of their rights because of their sexual orientation

Leung Chau-ting, Federation of Civil Service Unions

Disciplined Services General Union chairman Lau Yuk-fai expected more gay colleagues to “come out of the closet” to claim their rights if the ruling stood.