Hong Kong trans activist gets new ID card after ‘incredibly difficult’ 7-year legal battle

Hong Kong transgender activist Henry Tse has received a new identity card, after he successfully updated its gender marker following a series of “incredibly difficult” lawsuits over a span of seven years against the city’s administration.

Henry Tse outside the Immigration Tower on April 29, 2024. Photo: Transgender Equality Hong Kong.

Tse celebrated outside Immigration Tower in Wan Chai on Monday morning after obtaining a new ID card from the Immigration Department. The chairman of Transgender Equality Hong Kong described it as a “historic moment” and said the new identification document “holds great significance” for him and his supporters.

“I finally, truly obtained an HKID card that says I’m male,” Tse said in an English statement.

“The numerous day-to-day humiliation and problems rendered by having a wrong ID are finally effectively resolved – what is normal for many people has finally become normal for us,” he added.

Legal battle

Tse launched a legal bid in 2017 to challenge the requirement that only individuals who completed full Sex Reassignment Surgery (SRS) could apply to amend the gender marker on their identity card.

Court of Final Appeal judiciary — Court of Final Appeal. Photo: GovHK.

After losing his case in the High Court in 2018, Tse and another trans man identified as “Q” lodged an appeal to the Court of Appeal. The appeal court upheld the government policy in January 2022.

Tse and Q subsequently took the case to the Court of Final Appeal, which handed a landmark victory to the pair in February last year. A panel of judges led by Chief Justice Andrew Cheung ruled that such a requirement was unconstitutional.

“This judicial marathon has been incredibly difficult,” Tse said on Monday.

New policy

Earlier this month, the Hong Kong government announced it would expand the scope of eligibility for an individual to apply for amending the gender marker on their Hong Kong identity card.

Under the revised policy, individuals who have not undergone full SRS may apply to change the gender marker on their ID card if they have completed surgical treatment for the purpose of modifying sexual characteristics.

Applicants must also confirm that they have gender dysphoria; have lived as the opposite sex for at least two years and vow to continue living as the opposite sex for the rest of their lives; and that they have been undergoing hormonal treatment continuously for at least two years and will continue to do so.

They may be asked to submit blood test reports at the request of the commissioner of registration – a position held by the immigration chief – for random checking of their hormonal profile, the government said.

Although the LGBTQ community generally welcomed the revision, some raised concerns over a potential breach of individual rights by demanding applicants to take “unnecessary medical tests.”

Judicial review

Before the government announced its policy revision, Tse had applied to challenge the government’s failure in issuing him an identity card matching his gender more than a year after the landmark ruling.

Immigration Tower. File photo: Tom Grundy/HKFP.

The activist confirmed on Monday that the judicial review he filed last month would continue to proceed through the judicial process, demanding remedy from the government for what he saw as an “unreasonable delay.”

Judicial reviews are considered by the Court of First Instance and examine the decision-making processes of administrative bodies. Issues under review must be shown to affect the wider public interest.