The recent Hong Kong municipal elections which swept pro-democracy candidates to power also saw three openly LGBTIQ councillors win in their districts.
The South China Morning Post reports that the three become the city’s first openly LGBTIQ councillors. Jimmy Sham Tsz-kit, Kenneth Cheung Kam-hung and Alice Wei Siu-lik join many other young candidates who emerged triumphant in the elections held amidst widespread civil unrest.
In a further victory, the city’s most fervent defenders of so-called “traditional relationships and family values” lost the election.
Jimmy Sham Tsz-kit
Long a target of online abuse because of his openly gay status, Jimmy Sham also became the recipient of homophobic slurs from police during a recent march. As the convenor of the Civil Human Rights Front, he helped organise many of the large protest marches during the last six months.
He said in office he would “promote equality through dialogue.”
“I will not only pay heed to those from the LGBT sector but all vulnerable groups.”
Alice Wei Siu-lik
Alice Wei was already well-known as an organiser of Hong Kong’s annual Pride Parade. She said she saw increasing LGBTIQ visibility as vital. However, she also said she would adopt a quiet approach of “influencing gradual change through daily conversations.”
Kenneth Cheung Kam-hung
Kenneth seems less likely to adopt a quiet approach. He said he plans to display rainbow flags in his council office. He also intends employing drag queens to perform onstage at district events.
Kenneth worked in China as an LGBTIQ advocate until banned from the mainland earlier this year.
Raymond Chan Chi-chuen, a former radio host, won elections to the Legislative Assembly in 2012. He came out as gay after the election. However, he still won re-election in 2016.
He told the South China Morning Post that with some of the more conservative councillors gone, the new councillors should encounter less resistance to LGBTIQ positive policies.
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