Paul Tsai China Center: A Discussion with Henry TSE, Leading Trans Activist from Hong Kong

“How One Letter Could Change a Life”: A Discussion with Henry Tse, Leading Trans Activist from Hong Kong

For most people, the letter “M” or “F” on their ID document is never an issue. However, for many transgender people, the incongruence between the gender marker and their social gender often leads to myriad everyday humiliations — e.g., being suspected of identity fraud at the bank or by the police, being discriminated against at the workplace, not having access to the gym and other gender segregated spaces. That one letter on the ID card can truly change a transgender person’s life.

Henry Tse is a trans man and leading trans activist from Hong Kong. He is widely known for his successful seven-year legal battle that overturned Hong Kong’s “full sex reassignment surgery” requirement for changing the gender marker on official ID documents. During the discussion, he will share his insights on non-surgical gender recognition, transgender rights, and LGBTQIA+ equality in Hong Kong and the region.

As an LGBTQIA+ rights activist, Henry’s specialisation has been in strategic litigation and gender recognition legislation, in order to systemically improve the lives of the transgender and LGBTQIA+ communities. Henry is the founder and chair of Transgender Equality Hong Kong, a charity that aims at bridging the knowledge gaps in the LGBTQIA+ rights movement, creating impactful campaigns, and serving transpeople who are the most disadvantaged. He has extensive experience in local and international LGBTQIA+ human rights work, including UN human rights mechanisms, and large-scale community research.

Henry has been recognized as a 2018 Community Business Transgender Inclusion Champion, 2023 TIME Next Generation Leader, 2023 Tatler Gen.T Honouree, 2024 Asia Society Asia 21 Next Gen Fellow, recipient of the 2023 Prism Award issued by the Hong Kong Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, and a Pam Baker Human Rights Scholar of the LLM (Human Rights) Programme at the University of Hong Kong. He also delivered a very well-received TEDx Talk in 2023.