Hong Kong's top court rules in favor of recognizing same-sex partnerships in a landmark case

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

56% : Many of the government's concessions were won through legal challenges in recent years and the city has seen a growing social acceptance toward same-sex marriage.
55% : Currently, Hong Kong only recognizes same-sex marriage for certain purposes such as taxation, civil service benefits and dependent visas.
53% : Jerome Yau, a co-founder of non-governmental organization Hong Kong Marriage Equality, said the ruling sent a clear signal that same-sex relationships deserve some form of recognition and that it would help enhance Hong Kong's reputation.
51% : Surveys showed 60% of the respondents showed support for same-sex marriage in 2023, up from 38% in 2013, according to a report issued by researchers at The University of Hong Kong, The Chinese University of Hong Kong and the University of North Carolina School of Law in May.
48% : But the judges unanimously dismissed Sham's final appeal on other grounds related to same-sex marriage and recognition of overseas same-sex unions.
47% : The ruling did not grant full marriage rights to same-sex couples but was a partial victory for prominent pro-democracy Jimmy Sham, who had fought a five-year legal battle over the recognition of same-sex marriage registered overseas.
42% : Sham married his husband in New York in 2013, and argued that Hong Kong's laws, which don't recognize foreign same-sex marriage, violate the constitutional right to equality.
42% : But Suen admitted he was disappointed that the court did not recognize same-sex marriage.
40% : In a previous hearing, Sham's lawyer Karon Monaghan argued that the absence of same-sex marriage in Hong Kong sent a message that it's less worthy of recognition than heterosexual marriages.

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