(Photo : Shutterstock / Lisa F. Young) Marriage ceremony of a transgender couple.


Marriages between transgender individuals will be recognized as legal in Hong Kong beginning July whether or not lawmakers are able to meet the deadline for passing the marriage amendment bill.



Hong Kong officials have told the Legislative Council yesterday transgender marriages will be recognized as legal starting July. The said officials have previously come under fire for taking too much time in settling the matter, according to South China Morning Post.



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The government's deadline for amending the marriage bill was set for July 2014. In May 2013, the Court of Final Appeal approved a transgender person's petition to marry her male fiancé.



With the government known for moving too slow and with just about a month to go, some people fear that it will have a hard time meeting the deadline.



According to People Power lawmaker Raymond Chan Chi-chuen during yesterday's meeting of the Bills Committee on Marriage (Amendment) Bill, the government's slow action had left the lawmakers with very little time to talk about the bill. He also said that although the landmark transgender marriage case had already been issued a ruling last year, the first reading of the bill only occurred in March 2014.



Chan said the government's procrastination is forcing them to allot only three months to discuss the bill. He also said that by doing this, the government is conveying "disrespect to the court."



Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung from the Labour Party, as well as other lawmakers, have also said they may not have enough time to pass the bill before the given deadline.



Fortunately, Secretary for Security Lai Tung-kwok said transgender marriages would still be recognized as legal in July whether or not the marriage amendment bill had been passed or not.



According to Lai's deputy Maggie Wong Siu-chu, the ruling of the Court of Appeals would automatically take effect in July.



Meanwhile, Lawmaker Paul Tse Wai-chun remarked that the deadline for the passing of the bill was unrealistic since the government was given just one year to work on it. He added that the British government needed six years, while the Hong Kong government was given only 12 months.

