Hong Kong has made a significant policy adjustment, allowing transgender individuals to change their gender markers on ID cards without undergoing full gender-affirmation surgery.
This development follows a landmark ruling by Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal in favour of activists Henry Tse and Q, challenging the stringent surgical requirements previously enforced. Despite this progress, LGBTQ+ activists have criticised the new policy for still imposing unnecessary surgical and medical interventions, arguing it infringes on the bodily integrity and privacy of trans people.
Under the revised regulations, transgender men and women are still required to undergo specific surgeries — top surgery for trans men and bottom surgery for trans women — along with completing at least two years of hormone replacement therapy before they can apply for a change in their gender marker. Additionally, applicants must provide a statutory declaration of their gender dysphoria and evidence of living in their true gender for a minimum of two years.
The response from the transgender community and their advocates has been mixed. While the removal of the mandate for full gender-affirmation surgery is seen as a step forward, the persistence of surgical requirements and the emphasis on hormone-level testing are viewed as invasive and unnecessary, violating the individuals’ rights to privacy and self-determination. Critics, including Tse and organisations like Quarks and the Hong Kong Trans Law Database, highlight the policy’s failure to consult with the transgender community and the lack of clear medical standards as significant shortcomings.
