Thousands marched the streets of Hong Kong on Saturday to celebrate China’s diversity and call for more action to protect sexual minorities. The ninth annual Hong Kong Pride Parade brought out a few politicians and drag queens, but a lot more people from the PRD just proud to have a day to call their own. Locals lined the route (mostly because the path from Victoria Park to City Hall ran through their busy day) and snapped photos of the upbeat marchers.
The steady buzz of Hong Kong traffic paused for the single-lane march of “over 10,000” walking and chanting calls for acceptance. It’s only a fraction of the hundreds of thousands who turned out in Taipei last month - but the island just saw the courts rule in favor of marriage equality, so there was a lot to celebrate.
READ MORE: Guangzhou Group Goes to Hong Kong Pride This November
Though Hong Kong just saw a court allow a British lesbian to join her partner in the city, marchers lamented the slow progress on a bill to strengthen protections for transgender Hong Kongers. No such laws yet exist in China, and a recent survey from the Beijing LGBT Center shows pervasive violence against transgender people in China. But more awareness - as we'll see in China’s first Trans Pride, planned for 2018 in Shanghai - has gradually led to more acceptance of sexual minorities around the world.
Scroll down for photos of the revelers, including hundreds from Guangzhou, Dongguan and Shenzhen.
Do you think China’s ready for full equality? Let us know in the comments below.
[Images via Adam Robbins, Lisa Loveless, Kara Hall, Jenny MacDonald, Bruce Cheung, Samantha]
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