Hong Kong's top court rules in favour of same-sex civil unions

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

57% : Some international businesses in Hong Kong have also backed marriage equality campaigns, crediting it as a way to attract talent.
52% : While LGBTQ activism faces political challenges in mainland China, semi-autonomous Hong Kong has seen increasing support among its population for same-sex marriage.
52% : Tuesday's case was different because it asked for a more "wholesale" recognition of same-sex marriage, but that also meant success "might be more difficult", he added.
51% : In Asia only Nepal and Taiwan recognise same-sex marriage while in South Korea lawmakers have recently introduced legislation that would recognise same-sex partnerships.
50% : A poll this year found that 60 percent of Hong Kongers supported same-sex marriage, compared to just 38 percent a decade ago.
50% : But the city's Beijing-approved leadership has shown little appetite for passing laws that advance LGBTQ equality.
44% : The court "unanimously dismisses the appeal in relation" to same-sex marriage and recognition of foreign same-sex marriage, it said in its judgement.
44% : British rights lawyer Karon Monaghan, representing Sham, told the court in June the ban disadvantages same-sex couples in areas such as inheritance and housing rentals.
43% : Gender studies scholar Suen Yiu-tung said Hong Kong decriminalised sexual acts between adult men in 1991, but still had "no protection against discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity".
42% : But it stopped short of making a decision of full marriage equality for same-sex couples.
42% : Sham had argued the city's ban on same-sex marriage violated his right to equality, while the lack of a policy alternative -- such as civil unions -- does the same, in addition to breaching his right to privacy.
40% : But the case brought by jailed pro-democracy activist Jimmy Sham is the first time Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal has directly addressed the issue of same-sex marriage.
36% : Over the past decade, LGBTQ activists in the former British colony have won piecemeal victories in court, striking down discriminatory government policies on visas, taxes and housing benefits.

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