Alice Wu

Opinion | An open and inclusive society? Not judging by ongoing outrage over Gay Games

Priscilla Leung’s off-script warning at a Basic Law forum that any discussion of gay marriage could tear society apart and have a bigger impact than the enactment of local national security laws merits deeper scrutiny

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Lawmaker Priscilla Leung attends a November 1 press conference at Legco in Admiralty to call for a ban on the Gay Games. At a recent Basic Law forum, she made the leap from the city hosting the Games to a discussion on marriage equality. Photo: Edmond So

Alice Wu

Published: 9:30am, 27 Nov 2023Updated: 12:26pm, 23 Dec 2023

One of my cousins once took part in a local gay tennis tournament. He wasn’t, and still isn’t, gay. He played doubles with a gay friend. He had a great time, played some awesome matches and can attest to never feeling unwelcome during the tournament because of his heterosexuality or pressured in any way to be otherwise.

Most of us would not be surprised or outraged at this. It isn’t something to write home about. Taking part in such a tournament is, after all, about openness and inclusiveness, both very good attributes. Why else would Hong Kong keep selling itself as an open, vibrant and inclusive city?

So all this continued outrage over the Gay Games is really over the top. Executive Council convenor Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee was told to resign for her support of the event and presiding over its opening ceremony. The event was called “criminal activity”.

Anti-LGBTQ lawmakers have called the Games a threat to national security and claimed that funding came from foreign organisations, amounting to collusion with external forces and a violation of the national security law. Many people have brushed off those ridiculous accusations and the equally absurd reasoning behind them.

However, the Gay Games returned to the headlines last week after unwarranted comments at a Basic Law legal forum. Apparently, some people can’t even tolerate a prominent mainland legal scholar and constitutional expert saying that the Games “provided a tangible expression of Hong Kong’s openness, diversity and inclusiveness, helping the international community to better understand the city”.

Han Dayuan, a professor at Renmin University law school, speaks at a press conference in 2021. Han said recently that hosting the Gay Games helped the international community better understand Hong Kong. Photo: Simon Song

Basic Law Committee member and lawmaker Priscilla Leung Mei-fun felt the need to go off-script at the forum in response, saying “any discussion on gay marriage would tear apart Hong Kong society with an impact that could be worse than the enactment of the Basic Law’s Article 23”.