Pro-Beijing lawmaker Junius Ho has slammed the new hit TV series Ossan’s Love for featuring same-sex romance, claiming that promoting homosexuality is against China’s three-child policy and its national security law.
Ho made his comments on Sunday while speaking at Hong Kong’s annual book fair.
Ho described the show as “sugar-coated marijuana,” saying it promoted “childless families” which were against traditional Chinese values of families founded between one man and one woman, according to local media reports.
Neither China’s national security law nor its three-child policy apply to Hong Kong, although the city has its own Beijing-imposed security law.
The Hong Kong-produced show, broadcast on ViuTV, was released in late June and has since gained a wide local fan base. It stars Edan Lui, Anson Lo and Kenny Wong and was adapted from a 2016 Japanese series.
Last month, Ho spoke out against Hong Kong government involvement in the 2022 Gay Games, calling it “disgraceful” and saying the city should not chase “dirty money.” Chief Executive Carrie Lam repudiated his comments as unnecessarily divisive.
‘Homophobic and ignorant’
A local activist group slammed the lawmaker, who is a lawyer by profession, for his “ignorance” of evolving LGBT rights in mainland China, saying its courts have at times granted more rights to same-sex couples than have Hong Kong courts.
“Junius Ho is not only ignorant but also homophobic on same-sex issues,” Tommy Jai, spokesperson for Rainbow Action, told HKFP.
Jai added that Chinese courts have granted protection against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in the workplace and have recognised spousal visas for same-sex couples, before Hong Kong courts did so.
“Same-sex rights in many cases are far more advanced in China than in Hong Kong,” the activist said.
Same-sex marriages are not recognised in Hong Kong, while mainland China adopts an ambiguous “no approval, no disapproval, no promotion” policy on same-sex relations.
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