Hong Kong Pride Parade announces date for annual march, pending police approval

Hong Kong Pride Parade has set aside November 14 for their annual march, the event’s organizing committee announced on their Facebook page.

“All along, sexual minorities have suffered the powerless of being rejected and unprotected by society, but we firmly believe that there is great strength in using love to influence those around us,” the event page wrote.

https://www.facebook.com/hkpride/photos/a.357450131000851/3191243714288131/?type=3&theater

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Since 2008, supporters of LGBT rights in the city have been holding the annual event every year with the exception of 2010, when the committee decided not to go ahead with plans due to a lack of funding.

Last year, during the peak of the city’s anti-extradition protests, a rally was held instead of a march after police cited safety concerns and said they would only allow organizers to hold a “public meeting.”

Read more: Thousands gather for Hong Kong Pride despite police ban on parade

The committee said they have submitted an application for this year’s march and are awaiting a letter of no objection from police.

In recent years, a number of high-profile court cases that saw victories for the city’s LGBT community has allowed discussion about the rights of sexual minorities—once a fringe topic in mainstream society—to gain more ground in Hong Kong.

Last year, the city’s highest court unanimously ruled to grant spousal benefits and joint sex assessment to a gay couple who got married in New Zealand. The case was celebrated as a landmark win that grants same-sex partners legally married overseas access to rights they had long been denied.

According to research done by the Chinese Univeristy of Hong Kong’s Sexualities Research Program, public opposition towards LGBT rights is at a record low. The results of the study, published in January this year, found that only 12 percent of the respondents said they very much disagreed or disagreed that people of different sexual orientation should be legally protected against discrimination.

While Hong Kong has made progress on some fronts in achieving equality for the minority community, there remains a long way to go.

Same-sex marriage or civil unions are not recognized in Hong Kong, and pro-establishment lawmakers have traditionally expressed vocal opposition against extending legal rights to same-sex couples—even calling it a threat to traditional family values.