The organiser of the upcoming Gay Games in Hong Kong has rejected calls to scrap the event, after five human rights activists urged that the games be cancelled.
Gay Games Hong Kong said it was “dismayed and disappointed that certain people outside Hong Kong are actively working to undermine and sabotage the successful staging of the Games later this year.”
The organiser’s comments on Monday came after five activists including American lawyer Samuel Bickett – who was jailed in 2021 for assaulting a police officer during the 2019 extradition bill protests and unrest – called for cancellation.
The five activists said in an Out Sports op-ed published last Wednesday that the organiser “betrayed the values and principles of the Gay Games, which purport to celebrate inclusion and promote human rights.”
“Instead, they have aligned themselves with pro-authoritarian figures responsible for widespread persecution against the people of Hong Kong,” the op-ed read.
The organisers not only ignored the government’s response to the 2019 extradition bill protests, “but openly embraced the illegitimate regime tasked with crushing Hong Kong,” the activists said.
They also criticised the organisers for inviting pro-Beijing lawmaker Regina Ip to a gala last year, and for “misleading” potential participants about their safety if they take part.
“With respect to the Games, which undoubtedly will be seen as a political event by authorities, the National Security Law’s vagueness means that Beijing could decide to either ignore the event entirely, or order arrests of participants for sedition or subversion – and there is simply no way to know which direction it will choose until the event itself,” the activists said.
The Beijing-imposed national security law, enacted in June 2020, criminalised subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces and terrorist acts, which were broadly defined to include disruption to transport and other infrastructure.
The move gave police sweeping new powers, alarming democrats, civil society groups and trade partners, as such laws have been used broadly to silence and punish dissidents in China. However, the authorities say it has restored stability and peace to the city.
Games reject ‘slurs’
In response, Gay Games Hong Kong said it was “deeply saddened by unfounded slurs made about the integrity of the [Gay Games Hong Kong] Team.”
“[Gay Games Hong Kong] is not a political organisation,” it said, adding that volunteers represented “a rainbow of different genders, sexual orientation, ages, social backgrounds, nationalities and political views.”
“We are united by one goal only: to deliver a great event for the Federation of Gay Games, for Hong Kong, and for participants and supporters travelling to Hong Kong from around the world. That is our mission. That is what drives us,” the statement read.
It asked participants of the event “to respect and observe local laws and customs during their stay in Hong Kong.”
“Participants in the Games are guests to Hong Kong and we encourage them to show the same respect to local laws and customs as they would with visiting any other city or region.”
Gay Games Hong Kong is scheduled to be held in November after the event was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the organisers said in May that sign-ups for the event were more than 90 per cent below target.
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