Hong Kong court orders benefits for same-sex couples

Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal on Thursday ruled the government must provide spousal and tax benefits to same-sex couples. The court found in favor of a senior Hong Kong immigration officer who entered into a same-sex marriage in New Zealand in 2014. He then sued for access to marriage benefits back in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory, which defines marriage as the union between one man and one woman.

In their ruling, the judges called the protection of heterosexual marriage a legitimate goal but said it has no “rational connection” to denied benefits.

“In any event, we are unable to accept the proposition that heterosexual marriage would be undermined by the extension of the employment and tax benefits to same-sex married couples,” the judges said in the ruling. Last year, the court ruled the same-sex partner of a British expatriate was entitled to equal visa treatment under Hong Kong’s immigration law.