Hong Kong’s LGBTQ Event Cancellation and Rising Concerns Over Civil Society
Hong Kong’s largest LGBTQ event, Pink Dot, has been canceled this year after organizers failed to secure their usual venue at the West Kowloon Cultural District. No official reason was given for the sudden withdrawal. This cancellation comes amid a broader trend of dwindling public support for LGBTQ events in the city, with the last Pride Parade held in 2018. In recent years, organizers have shifted to indoor bazaars instead of street marches.
The cancellation also coincides with a controversial government bill granting limited rights to same-sex couples, which faces pushback from conservative lawmakers. Since the implementation of the national security law in June 2020, the advocacy space has significantly tightened, leading to the closure of over 60 civil society groups. Sudden cancellations of venue bookings have become more common, affecting NGOs, opposition parties, and even artists.
In September 2023, the Democratic Party had to cancel its fundraising dinner after two restaurants pulled out at the last minute—one citing typhoon damage. Once the city’s largest pro-democracy party, it now faces disbandment, with key figures jailed or barred from running in the city’s overhauled elections. Singer-activist Denise Ho, who was arrested for suspected involvement in the Stand News sedition case, has also struggled to book venues. Her 2021 concert at the Hong Kong Arts Centre was canceled over vague “public safety” concerns, and a planned live show in May 2024 was scrapped and moved online.
University Guidance from Beijing Sparks Debate
For the first time, Hong Kong’s University Grants Committee has explicitly told its eight publicly funded universities to follow guidance from Beijing and align with remarks by Chinese leader Xi Jinping. This directive appeared in the latest University Accountability Agreement signed by the eight public universities in late June. Schools were urged to support Hong Kong’s integration with the mainland, focusing on “invigorating China through science and education.”
They were also instructed to follow Xi’s views on driving Hong Kong’s growth and nurturing young talent, including the “four musts” and “four proposals” from his 2022 visit. The new accountability deal is seen as another step in keeping local universities in check, following the 2019 protests and unrest, during which campuses became battlegrounds between police and protesters.
Since then, most universities have cut ties with student unions, while “democracy walls” and sculptures marking the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown were removed. University councils were reshaped to boost the number of external members, reducing student influence. In September 2024, the Hong Kong government criticized a Human Rights Watch and Hong Kong Democracy Council report warning of a “severe decline” in academic freedom since the national security law. Officials dismissed the report as “fabricated,” insisting academic freedom remains a core value in Hong Kong.
Podcast Removal and Political Commentary
Hong Kong writer and cultural critic Leung Man-tao’s Mandarin podcast has been pulled from several Chinese online platforms, local media reported this week. The move followed an episode last month, during which Leung reportedly made “sensitive” remarks. The episode in question, discussing the passing of renowned food critic Chua Lam, was removed from platforms including Xiaohongshu (RedNote), Ximalaya, and Bilibili.
Leung mentioned that Chua’s early columns appeared in Next Magazine, a now-defunct publication, calling it a “very sensitive” topic. He added that bringing up its owner—jailed pro-democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai—is considered “unhealthy.” Still, he named “Jimmy” and noted that Apple Daily, also under Lai’s Next Digital, once “pushed certain things in Hong Kong to a peak.”
Towards the end, Leung discussed political commentary by the “Four Great Talents,” saying some views expressed by Cha, better known by his pen name Jin Yong, could land someone in jail in today’s climate. He also commented on the city’s current downturn, stating Hong Kong’s economy is “very bad,” with a wave of business closures, while officials focus on “soft resistance.”
Constitutional Debate and Black Rainstorm Chaos
The government’s plan to let same-sex couples married overseas register their partnerships in Hong Kong has sparked debate within the pro-establishment camp. Politicians and legal scholars are split on the issue. Gu Mingkang, a scholar at the Education University of Hong Kong, wrote in Ming Pao to rebut City University of Hong Kong legal academic Zhu Guobin. In an earlier op-ed published in Ming Pao, Zhu warned that if lawmakers reject the bill, it could be seen as going against a 2023 Court of Final Appeal ruling—putting the judiciary in an “awkward” spot and possibly triggering a constitutional crisis.
Gu disagreed, arguing that passing or rejecting a bill is part of the legislature’s normal function. He said calling it a “constitutional crisis” is just sensationalism, showing either a lack of understanding or disrespect for the city’s constitutional setup. In early July, University of Hong Kong law professor Albert Chen offered a similar view to Zhu’s, warning that failing to follow the court’s ruling would be a “major shock” to Hong Kong’s constitutional system.
Flooding and Public Outrage
Photos and videos of serious flooding in Hong Kong went viral this week after the year’s first Black Rainstorm Warning was issued on Tuesday. One clip showed a man walking on a road barrier near Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital, as water covered both roads and sidewalks. Eastern District was among the hardest hit—another video showed water gushing down a hillside on Yiu Hing Road in Shau Kei Wan, turning into mini waterfalls and flooding nearby areas. Some joked it looked like Niagara Falls.
A viral photo also showed flooding outside Quarry Bay MTR station, where a big crowd of commuters were stuck at the exit. Memes quickly spread, with many questioning why the Observatory only raised the warning at 9:10am—just after most people had already started work. Others mocked the lack of “advanced planning,” a phrase used by Chief Secretary Eric Chan earlier last month when explaining a premature class suspension decision. Barely any rain fell the next day, sparking public backlash at the time.
Performance Art and Advocacy
Hong Kong’s non-binary artist Holok Chen and an activist, who chose to stay anonymous, staged a performance on Monday outside the Cotton Tree Drive Marriage Registry in Central and spoke to reporters. The two were dressed as monsters—Chen in a wedding gown and the activist in a tuxedo. Chen explained that their outfits were a response to how lawmakers have been “demonising” the LGBTQ community during discussions on the government’s proposed framework for granting limited rights to same-sex couples.
“I want to create a speculative future where monsters, even monsters of different taxonomy, can live, can love, can kiss and can enjoy their divine union,” they said.
