Hong Kong: LGBT+ community calls for new top judge to work with them

By Michael Taylor

KUALA LUMPUR, April 1 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Hong Kong's LGBT+ community urged the territory's new top judge to work with them as they campaign for the recognition of same-sex marriage and to stop widespread discrimination.

Hong Kong's chief executive last week chose Justice Andrew Cheung Kui-nung to be the next chief justice of the court of final appeal, although the appointment - which is due to begin in January - needs to be endorsed by the Legislative Council. Cheung has previously ruled against transgender and same-sex couples in several legal challenges.

LGBT+ activists said it was vital not to underplay the importance of courts as the key means to bring about change or challenge policy.

"In Hong Kong, there are very limited ways to advocate LGBT+ human rights," Tommy Chen, spokesman at advocacy Rainbow Action, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation on Wednesday. Read more via Reuters