The administration should be lauded for taking this step. It attests to the vitality and robustness of Hong Kong’s legal system, and its procedural importance in shaping and guiding key executive decisions. This move is also a rebuke to those who assert that the rule of law is over in Hong Kong.
Governance under the rule of law is treasured, for it allows for the implementation of decisions and enshrinement of rights independent of any particular ideology or value commitments. For instance, a committed Christian is unlikely to see eye to eye with a Hindu or Muslim over their religious ideals and tenets. Yet if the court rules in favour of secularism and the accommodation of different belief systems, all citizens, religious or non-religious, must be bound by the ensuing laws of non-discrimination and inclusion.
In that spirit, some legislators who personally disapprove of same-sex marriage have backed the government’s decision.
As the United States moves in a more rabidly insular direction, Hong Kong is defying cynics by highlighting the diversity inherent in the modern China story and the unique arrangements under which we are governed.
