In comments sure to spark a backlash in Hong Kong’s LBGT community, a politician on Monday said Hong Kong did not accept the transgender community and they should not have the gender with which they identify recognized by law.
District councillor Dominic Lee from the pro-Beijing and pro-business Liberal Party made the comments to RTHK, ahead of a Legco meeting to discuss a public consultation exercise on gender recognition.
According to RTHK, Lee said gender dysphoria was an illness and those suffering from it should receive psychological treatment rather than legal recognition.
He called the basis of the consultation flawed, because sexual reassignment surgeries did not alter someone’s DNA.
“This procedure will only give you the outer appearance of the opposite sex, so we believe that transgender doesn’t really exist,” Lee said, according to RTHK.
“We have to make a balance between human rights as well as the values of society. I think Hong Kong is quite a conservative place, so as this point to make any big changes that contradict our core values, our moral values, will not be suitable,” he said.
Under the city’s Equal Opportunities Ordinance, it is illegal to discriminate against someone because of their sex, marital status, disability, race, and family status. The ordinance however does not prohibit discrimination against someone because of their sexual orientation.
However, gender dysphoria, or gender identity disorder, is treated as a mental disorder or disability under the ordinance.
Gender dysphoria is listed in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) and defined as an individual’s discontent with their assigned gender.
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