Hong Kong LGBT group disrupts church talk on discrimination

Rainbow Action urges for an open dialogue with Cardinal Tong to narrow differences.

Protestors from Rainbow Action hold up a banner outside a social welfare department as they demonstrate discrimination in Hong Kong in this 2011 file photo. The group March 13 disrupted a church talk on proposed Sexual Orientation Discrimination Ordinance. (Photo by AFP)

Hong Kong:  LGBT activists disrupted a church talk on the anti-sexual orientation discrimination law, urging the Hong Kong Catholic Diocese to discuss and dialogue on the issue.

St. Jude's Church Parish Family Group organized the March 13 event on Sex Orientation Discrimination Ordinance at its parish premises in North Point.

In January the Equal Opportunities Commission reported widespread public support for the legislative protection against discrimination for LGBT people and called for the government to undertake public consultation to ascertain the scope and content of that legislation.

Soon after the church-organized event was in progress about 10 members from the Rainbow Action, a LGBT movement in Hong Kong, began shouting slogans "stop discrimination, start with dialogue" and distributed leaflets outside the parish.

Organizers had to call for police help and the event was cancelled.

Earlier, a scuffle broke out as the activists tried to get into the venue before the event but was stopped by parish volunteers who said they had not registered for the event.

However, Jimmy Sham Tzs-kit, a member of the Rainbow Action, told ucanews.com that he had phoned the parish before and the one who answered him said, "You just come and it's OK."

Salesian Father Martin Yip Tai Ho who participated in the event said the parish announcement on March 5 said the event needed registration.

Sham said they just wanted to hear the Catholic point of view on the ordinance.

"Many talks on the ordinance organized by the church are behind closed door. We only know of the diocese's standpoint through Cardinal John Tong Hon's letter released in November. We non-Catholic gay people are interested in what the church says," he said.

Cardinal Tong in his letter had said that "core values and key concepts of marriage and of the family are continually being challenged and misinterpreted" because of the ordinance.

Rainbow Action had urged for an open dialogue with Cardinal Tong or any diocese's delegate to discuss the issue. "We know the Catholic Church has many worries on the ordinance. Dialogue is aimed to narrow the differences among us," Sham said.

"We plan to invite other Christian churches to have dialogue as well," he added.

Rainbow Action has given Hong Kong Diocese two weeks' time to respond to their request for dialogue.

Diocesan spokesman Fung Yat Ming told ucanews.com confirmed that they received the group's invitation.

The Equal Opportunities Commission in its reports said 55.7 percent of the telephone survey respondents agreed with the ordinance that aims to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

Source: UCAN