Gay rights march planned for former Portuguese colony near Hong Kong
Activists in Macau are planning a march for gay rights on Thursday in response to the government not including same-sex partners in drafted cohabitation law.
Jason Chao, who started a Facebook page urging the government to include gay couples in the domestic partnership law, called a press conference yesterday to announce the parade.
‘In recent years, various jurisdictions have passed laws to offer homosexuals equal rights as heterosexuals, as well as protect the former from discrimination,’ said Chao at the press conference, Macau Daily Times reports.
‘Last Thursday we presented a letter to the Social Welfare Bureau, demanding the SAR Government get back on track by including homosexual cohabitation under the draft.’
Like Hong Kong, Macau is a Special Administrative Region (SAR), part of China but governed by its own democratically elected administration.
The government has not responded to Chao’s letter.
The march for gay rights in Macau will start at Iao Hon Market Garden at 2pm on Thursday 20 December. Chao encouraged ‘all who care about homosexual rights’ to be there.
by Anna Leach
Source – Gay Star News
