LGBT activists Kenneth Cheung and Karen Chen criticized the Hong Kong government on Sunday for paying little attention on gender education even it has more freedom compared with mainland China, saying it is shameful.
“Many people may regard Hong Kong as the most democratic area in China. However, it’s shameful for Hong Kong government to ignore sexual minorities’ voices for more gender education in school,” Cheung said in a speech at the Rainbow China Forum last night in Hong Kong
LGBT activists Kenneth Cheung and Karen Chen are at the Rainbow China Forum in Hong Kong, Sunday Sept. 29,2019. (Photo/Zoey Li)
“Sometimes the only way we can provide gender-related training programs in Hong Kong school is by offering AIDS prevention courses,” said Cheung, co-exist with AIDS for two decades.
“Pressure mounted by government, blocked by media, it’s difficult to talk about LGBT group and gender education in mainland China,” said Chen, head of an NGO involving protecting LGBT youth in China. “Our organization had sued China’s Ministry of Education for using homophobic textbooks for three times since 2015. The purpose is not to prevail in court but to bring more awareness about gender discrimination.”
Karen Chen gives a speech at the Rainbow China Forum in Hong Kong, Sunday Sept. 29,2019. (Photo/Zoey Li)
“Things seem to be more serious in Hong Kong now,” said Cheung. “Contrasted with mainland China, we have more freedom to talk about sexual minorities and we also have more choices to protect them from discrimination and bullying, but the problem is that our government don’t work on them.”
“Hong Kong schools still use outdated sex education guideline, which have not been updated for 22 years,” said a legislator. “The guideline still recognize transgender identity as abnormal sexual practices. As a textbook, it shouldn’t have such biased elements.”
“Even schools allow our organization to provide training programs for gender education. They only permit us to invite pastors to give courses about sex and gender, who will only teach ‘boys don’t cry’ and ‘sex is bad,’” said Cheung.
“I think Cheung’s appeal for gender education is extremely important. I know some sociology professors in Hong Kong use pseudoscientific explanation to deny the LGBT group,” said Ge Sheng-yu, a student majoring in Gender Studies in The Chinese University of Hong Kong. “I’m one of sexual minorities, that’s why I’m studying this program.”