Hong Kong's Same Sex Couple Turn Around

In Asia, you don't see much safety and security for same sex couples. Hong Kong, at the forefront of same sex recognition in Asia, has recently declared that foreign same sex couples are now entitled to visas to be with their spouses in Hong Kong.

While this may seem like a step in virtually no direction to us in the United States, it is a big step for Asia. In an article from Bloomberg, author David Tweed explains this by saying, "The decision puts Hong Kong at the forefront of a movement for gay rights in Asia, where only Taiwan is in the process of formally recognizing same-sex marriage." (Tweed, Bloomberg).

This doesn't mean that Hong Kong is going to magically grant rights to all same sex couples. In a New York Times article, authors Jennifer Jett and Austin Ramzy express the unfortunate opposition to complete equality within same sex couples. "[S]trong opposition to gay rights remains in what is in many ways a conservative society. Last month, a Hong Kong group said it had successfully petitioned the government to remove children’s books that discuss same-sex parenting and related themes from the main stacks of public libraries."

This also doesn't speak for trans couples as well, who are missing from this conversation. The rest of the world is waiting and watching for Hong Kong's next move as the leader in the equal rights movement in Asia.