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Cliff Buddle

The Gay Games have finally begun. The opening ceremony in Hong Kong yesterday marked the culmination of a long and very challenging six-year journey.
There are far fewer participants than first hoped for and the number of events has been scaled back. But staging the Games at all, for the first time in Asia, is an achievement in itself.
This is one of the world’s biggest sports and cultural events. Over the next week, some 2,400 competitors from 45 countries and territories will take part in 18 disciplines ranging from traditional sports such as badminton and swimming to local favourites dragon boat racing and mahjong.
Tonight and tomorrow will see a glamorous gala concert featuring performers ranging from the Hong Kong Philharmonic to famous drag acts Shea Coulee and Courtney Act.
A sister event is simultaneously being held in Guadalajara in Mexico, the first Latin-American country to play host.
Regina Ip says Hong Kong Gay Games is ‘creating history’, amid calls to cancel
Hong Kong was a different place when it was awarded the right to stage the Games in 2017. Since then, the city has experienced civil unrest, a new national security law and three years of pandemic restrictions. The Games were postponed for a year because of Covid-19. Guadalajara was added as co-host because of concerns Hong Kong’s curbs on travel would prevent overseas participants from attending.
Those restrictions have since been lifted. But the Games have, sadly, continued to attract controversy. Concerns over the impact of the national security law have led some participants to stay away, notably those from Taiwan. A number of LGBTQ activists have called for the games to be cancelled.
Meanwhile, conservative lawmakers citing “family values” also want the event stopped. Some have even suggested it breaches the national security law. This is absurd. No evidence has been produced to back up the fanciful notion that the Games are somehow part of a US plot to subvert Hong Kong. The organisers have stressed the event is not political, nor has it been funded by foreign governments.
The Gay Games, open to all adults whatever their sexual orientation, offers Hong Kong a golden opportunity to show the world that it is an open and progressive international city. The event’s mission is “unity in diversity.”
But the government has shown little interest, providing no funds and only one venue. There have been no welcoming remarks or statements of support, just a terse reminder that the event must be safe, orderly and lawful.
Four government bodies are listed as “supporting organisations”. They are the Equal Opportunities Commission, The Hong Kong Tourism Board, Brand Hong Kong and InvestHK. The EOC has expressed support for the Games. But these bodies do not appear to have provided much in the way of tangible backing.
Rather than actively embracing the Games, officials seem embarrassed that Hong Kong is hosting them. Government adviser and lawmaker Regina Ip, who officiated at yesterday’s opening ceremony, deserves credit for her long-standing and steadfast support for the event. More should follow her example.
The Games are being held at a critical point in Hong Kong’s treatment of the LGBTQ community. A series of court decisions, gathering pace in the last few weeks, have secured equal rights in specific areas. In September, the top court required the government to come up with a framework for the recognition of core rights for same-sex couples.
Meanwhile, opinion polls consistently show growing acceptance and support within the Hong Kong community, especially the young, for the furtherance and protection of such rights. It can no longer be said that society is not ready.
Many big sporting events face difficulties and controversy when in the pipeline. Usually, those problems evaporate once the event begins and people enter into the spirit of the occasion. Let us hope this is what happens with Hong Kong’s Gay Games.
The event reminds us that all people, whatever their gender, sexual orientation, race or nationality, deserve respect and equal treatment. We should all be rallying to that particular cause.


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Gay Games is a reminder that all people deserve respect and equality

Lawmaker Regina Ip attends the opening ceremony of Hong Kong Gay Game 2023, November 4, 2023. Photo: Edmond So

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The Hong Kong Gay Games, the first in Asia, is scheduled to run from Friday to November 11. Photo: Felix Wong

‘We have no political causes’: Hong Kong Gay Games organisers dismiss lawmakers’ claims over event nature and funding from foreign states or related groups

The Hong Kong Gay Games, the first in Asia, is scheduled to run from Friday to November 11. Photo: AFP

The event will cost about US$3.2 million, according to co-chair Lisa Lam. Photo: Dickson Lee

Games co-chair Lisa Lam has said the event will not be a platform to promote same-sex marriage. Photo: Dickson Lee

Hong Kong Gay Games: Regina Ip caught in war of words with anti-LGBTQ lawmakers, stresses she has never backed same-sex marriage

The Hong Kong Gay Games are set to launch on Friday and run until November 11. Photo: Felix Wong

Veteran politician Regina Ip says she has always stood against discrimination and is in favour of equal opportunities. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Opinion

The event attracted controversy before it opened yet its mission of “unity in diversity” is one that we should all rally to and embrace


The event attracted controversy before it opened yet its mission of “unity in diversity” is one that we should all rally to and embrace.


LGBTQ

Hong Kong Gay Games 2023

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Column

My Take

Gay Games is a reminder that all people deserve respect and equality

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}The event attracted controversy before it opened yet its mission of “unity in diversity” is one that we should all rally to and embrace

The event attracted controversy before it opened yet its mission of “unity in diversity” is one that we should all rally to and embrace