A Hong Kong LGBT+ activist has said that a lawmaker’s petition opposing the city’s co-hosting of the Gay Games is prejudiced, adding that associating the event with national security risks is “far from the truth.”
Zephyrus Tsang was speaking in response to legislative councillor Junius Ho’s petition, which called for the “national security apparatus” to put a stop to Hong Kong co-hosting the coming event. The government has not officially voiced its support for the games.
“Gay Games is a non-political event and organisation celebrating universal values including diversity and inclusion,” Tsang told HKFP.
Ho shared a petition on Friday to protest the November event. Held once every four years in different host cities, the Gay Games is an international LGBT-friendly event promoting inclusivity and participation regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity, according to its website.
“We think the HKSAR government should not encourage or support the Gay Games such that people interpret [the government] as supporting the Gay Games, and even the legalisation of gay marriage,” the petition read.
“Currently, this unhealthy trend is sweeping across the world, and more than thirty Western countries have been eroded by harmful ideological influences.”
The local authorities have not provided any special provisions or welcomed the games. At the time of the city’s successful bid in 2017, then-chief executive Carrie Lam said only that she “noted” the news. Statuory bodies such as the tourism board, InvestHK and the Equal Opportunities Commission have, however, given their backing.
Ho added that during the protests in 2019, the US had colluded with “their agents based locally” to incite students to riot, severely undermining the city’s stability and prosperity. He did not provide evidence of foreign involvement.
“We must think from the perspective of national security and prevent people from using the Gay Games to once again destroy Hong Kong,” he wrote.
HKFP has reached out to the Gay Games organisers for comment.
Tsang said he had reported the petition to its host, Google, “under the category of ‘promotes hate, violence or illegal/offensive activities.'”
Associating the event with national security threats was “far from the truth,” he added.
“On the contrary, solidarity between people of various age groups, gender and sexual identities, abilities, and backgrounds, would truly bring forth harmony and prosperity for our society,” Tsang said.
The Gay Games organisers said on Twitter to refer to “earlier tweets” for a response to Ho’s petition.
“We do not feed attempts by other parties to use our event for their own ends,” their tweet read.
Celebration of diversity
The games, which were postponed for a year due to Covid-19, will be co-hosted by Hong Kong and the Mexican city of Guadalajara from November 3 to 11 this year.
Hong Kong was initially meant to be the sole host of the event. Last year, however, the organisers announced that Hong Kong and Guadalajara would co-host the event together to allow more participants to take part should Hong Kong’s Covid-19 restrictions remain.
The nine-day-long Gay Games will include a range of sporting events, as well as art and cultural programmes such as concerts featuring local and international artists, exhibitions, and a festival village. The diverse programme aims to celebrate the richness of LGBTQ+ culture, the Gay Games organisers said.
During a Legislative Council meeting two years ago, Ho called the financial gains that Hong Kong would bring in from hosting the event “dirty money.” Another pro-establishment lawmaker, Priscilla Ho, claimed the Gay Games was “not just a sporting occasion” and could create divisions in society.
Then-chief executive Lam said at the time that such comments were “regretted” and that “individual [Legislative Council] members have become a bit emotional in expressing their views.”
A 2018 study showed that most Hongkongers support same-sex marriage. By 2020, opposition to LGBTQ+ rights had reached a record low, with 60 per cent of survey respondents saying they agreed there should be legal safeguards against discrimination based on sexual orientation in Hong Kong.
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