No current plan to progress LGBT+ rights because of traditions

Because LGBT+ identities are against Chinese traditions, he will not push for legal progress in the area unless with social consensus, Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng said in response to a question from the Times.

The head of the government was asked if the lack of legal protection for LGBT+ communities will impact the city’s attractiveness in terms of talent acquisition. To this, Ho said, “We do not have much to say about that, because this is a Chinese society. We need to develop some kind of consensus before we can make any decisions, because [LGBT+ rights are] quite different from our traditional values.”

The talent acquisition plan in Macau will not offer protection or rights for same-sex married couples.  This includes, for example, in areas such as dependent visas. In contrast, neighboring Hong Kong is willing to offer dependent visas to spouses in both same-sex or opposite-sex married couples.

On the other hand, Macau is the only jurisdiction in Greater China that does not allow transgendered people to change the gender markers on their ID documents. AL

Categories Macau