Lawmakers vote in the Legislative Council Chamber in Hong Kong on Wednesday. They rejected a bill that would have granted limited recognition to same-sex couples.

Lawmakers in Hong Kong on Wednesday rejected a government bill to offer limited recognition for same-sex partnerships, defying a historic ruling by the territory’s top court .

In 2023, Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal said the government had to provide “legal recognition” for same-sex couples within two years. In July, officials put forward a bill that would allow same-sex couples who married overseas to register their partnerships in Hong Kong, giving them some of the same rights as locally married heterosexual couples.

While the proposal was roundly criticized by LGBTQ groups for falling short of the “alternative framew

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