Statement on Two Public Housing Cases

“Today, the Court of Appeal upheld two Court of First Instance rulings regarding the Hong Kong Housing Authority’s differential treatment of same-sex couples in public rental housing and subsidized-sale public housing (Home Ownership Scheme) policies.

“Once again, the judgement made it clear that discrimination and unequal treatment on the ground of sexual orientation has no place in public policy decisions.

“Instead of prolonging unnecessary and expensive litigation and approaching the issue of recognizing same-sex partnerships with a piecemeal approach, the government should proactively work with stakeholders to come up with a comprehensive framework to recognize these partnerships.

“Per the Court of Final Appeal (CFA) decision, the government has the power to implement same-sex marriage if it wishes to do so, and it is beyond dispute that same-sex marriage remains the best solution when it comes to recognizing same-sex partnerships and giving meaningful effect to the recent CFA decision in the Sham Tsz-kit case.”