● Open Mindedness
I don’t want to hesitate when talking about gender
identity and sexuality anymore. I believe it to be a
disappointing and upsetting experience to hide one's true
color in Hong Kong or anywhere. Hong Kong, called the
Asian World City, is a place where people generally hide
the conversation of sexuality, a very basic property that as
humans we all possess. There hardly exists a space for
people to uphold gender and sexual equality, not to
mention the lack of rights for the LGBTQ (Lesbian; Gay;
Bisexual; Transgender; Questioning) community. It was
reassuring to learn that Germany has set up laws for same-
sex marriage, as well as protecting the rights of
transgendered people, so they don’t have to worry about
being bullied, or gossiped about, or hated by the
unknown. I was fortunate to be introduced by my German
friend to a queer association called “Queerreferat” in the
University of Augsburg, which is a student-organized
group to help enforce the anti-discrimination policy and
uphold gender equality on campus. I urge students and
scholars in Hong Kong to continue to make an effort to
prevent academic freedom and freedom of assembly from
being seized by various kinds of authorities.
Insofar, having this overseas experience has indeed
broadened my horizons, and not a day has gone by
without thinking about my own identity. I am looking
forward to discovering more variations and layers of
myself prior to my return to Hong Kong.
George is a student at EdUHK
studying Psychology with a
minor in French. He serves as
one of the Student
Ambassadors in the ASLLC.
MAY 2017
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09