Hong Kong Pride Parade
The Hong Kong Pride Parade is an annual march in Hong Kong in support of LGBT rights. Homosexuality is legal in Hong Kong since 1991 but there is no legal recognition of any same-sex relationships and limited protection against discrimination.
For the past several years the march has begun in Victoria Park, proceeding to Tamar Park in Admiralty, in front of the Central Government Complex.
Contents
History
Formal organised parades
There are four main organisations that participate the parade: Women Coalition of HKSAR, Rainbow of Hong Kong, Nutong Xueshe, and Gay Harmony.
2008
This is the first formal Pride Parade in Hong Kong. The parade was held on December 13, 2008, the route was from Great George Street Pedestrianised Area in Causeway Bay to the Southorn Playground in Wan Chai.[1]
2009
The second parade was held on November 1, 2009, the route was from the ending of the last year’s parade—Southorn Playground in Wan Chai to Chater Garden in Central.[2]
2010
For financial reasons the Pride Parade did not take place and suspended.[3]
2011
The third parade was held on November 12, 2011, the route was from East Point Road to the Southorn Playground.[4]
2012
The fourth parade was held on November 10, 2012, the route was from Victoria Park in Causeway Bay to the Chater Garden in Central.[5] The parade was held after the veto of Cyd Ho's bill in the Legislative Council, which was asking the HKSAR government to have proposals about consultations to expend the protected discrimination against the LGBT people in Hong Kong. Some anti-LGBT organizations such as Christian Right groups The Society For Truth And Light had reached thousands of signatures to oppose the consultation on expand the legislation of limited discrimination on LGBT people.
2015
The seventh parade was held on 8 November, 2015. About 9,000 participants marched from Victoria Park to Tamar Park at the Central Government Complex. This is the largest parade since 2008.
Description
Every year’s pride parade has its theme and dress code, stressing different concerns and request of LGBT rights. The theme of Pride Parade 2012 was ‘Dare to love’ and the dress code was different profession outfits which meant equality of LGBT in workplace.[6]
In Pride Parade 2012, many celebrities participated the campaign, including singers Denise Ho and Anthony Wong, and politicians Cyd Ho and Raymond Chan Chi-chuen. They led 4,000 people in the demonstration.[7] Denise Ho came out at the parade officially. She said "As a celebrity, I think I have an obligation, a duty to stand forward for the sake of love and equality.”[8]
Trend
Number of participants
The first pride parade in Hong Kong started from 2008. There was almost 1,000. The next year, the number increased for 800 people. However, there was no pride parade held in 2010 due to the lack of funds. In 2011, the parade restarted and 2,500 people participated in the parade. In 2012, number of participants increased to 4,000.[9]
Social atmosphere
The scale of pride parade becomes bigger. And the ticket sold in 2011 was 75%. The festival director, Karl Uhrich, believed that the sales of tickets would be better in 2012 due to the increasing tolerance of the gay and lesbian community.[10]
Impact
The yearly Hong Kong Pride Parades brought increasing numbers of LGBT individuals out of their closets. The event’s official website claimed that the number of participants nearly doubled in 2012 than that of 2011.[11] Its organizer, Connie Chan Man-wai in 2012 said that Hong Kong is the only city in China open for gay pride parades, and each year there are one-third of the parade participants being Mainlanders.[12]
Additionally, it raised awareness and mass support for LGBT rights. Chan also revealed that corporate sponsors and university students were eager to join for the first time since the beginning of these parades.[13]
Criticism
In June 2011, Hong Kong sAR Government hired a psychiatrist to train government counsellors and claimed that homosexuality can be "cured", which outraged the gay right activists.[14]
In June 2012, Hong Kong evangelist Pastor Enoch Lam held a religious seminar on "The Christian View on Homosexuality" in response of the gay right activities. In the seminar, he compared drug and gambling addiction to homosexuality and said: "[So] homosexuals, drug addicts, God still loves them all. However, I want to tell them that their behaviors, God will not agree and they must correct [themselves]."[15] This statements made a huge criticism from the society, including some Liberal Christians, stated that it was discriminated to the LGBT people.
See also
References
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