At a tiny, cluttered flat in Hong Kong, four people sat around a large rainbow flag and quietly started to embroider.

Just hours before, the city’s legislature overwhelmingly vetoed a government bill that would have granted limited rights to same-sex couples — a stinging defeat for an LGBTQ community that has already spent years on the back foot.

Some community members told AFP the outcome of Wednesday’s vote was “expected”, but that did little to cushion the emotional blow and assuage doubts about the future of advocating equality.

“I want to use a relatively calm activity to contain and process these grievances, and to preserve our energy to act,” said performance artist Holok Chen, who organised the embroidery event.

Rather than listening to politicians’ speeches, it was more import

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