Denise Ho (何韻詩) made an appearance at Hong Kong’s annual July 1 protest march, supporting the efforts of LGBT rights coalition Big Love Alliance, which she co-founded with singer Anthony Wong Yiu Ming (黃耀明) along with many prominent activists within the entertainment industry. Despite heavy rain and strong winds, Denise, Anthony, and Ellen Joyce Loo (盧凱彤) stood at Big Love Alliance’s booth at Causeway Bay to hand out flyers, rallying for equal rights. Since publicly declaring her lesbian orientation at the Hong Kong Pride Parade last year, Denise has been very outspoken about equality issues and fought tirelessly for the LGBT community. Denise extended her rallying efforts to include same-sex marriage rights. “I have always talked about requesting [political] consultation or equal rights for gay people, and haven’t discussed the possibility of marriage. To be blunt, we hope to have all the benefits that an average person would enjoy. We have put [our goals] on our flyers this time. We hope to have the same marriage and medical rights.” Denise’s good friend Anthony Wong Yiu Ming also spoke in support of same-sex marriage at the event. He believes that while they may not achieve marriage equality overnight, they are for certain treading on the right path. Anthony added that the United States Supreme Court’s recent ruling calling for the federal ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional shows that the world is finally stepping towards true equality. Anthony also rallied in support for universal suffrage in Hong Kong. He believes that unfair laws and regulations are results of a government that does not truly represent its people. He hopes that justice will return to society, and praised everyone for doing their part by attending today’s protest. Ellen Joyce Loo, part of girl band at17, attended the event to support Denise and Anthony. She is not too concerned over questions about her sexual orientation, and emphasized that there is no need to publicly declare her preferences. Ellen added that she hopes to give voice to victims of discrimination, and sees LGBT rights as the most important goal. Creds: Sing Tao
