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Teens told morals should not be privatized

HONG KONG, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- Gay rights activists lashed out at Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang after he warned against the "privatization" of morality.

"I believe the privatization of morals has become a danger in society. ... A moral is a value shared by the entire society," Tsang told a group of more than 1,000 young people Saturday.

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He was responding to a question on an August ruling by the High Court, which overturned a law criminalizing homosexual acts between men under 21. The government has appealed the ruling.

"Laws should not interfere in actions which are not harmful to other people," said Joseph Cho Man-kit, vice president of the Hong Kong Ten Percent Club, the South China Morning Post reported Monday.

"Mr. Tsang, and many other people, use moral values as an excuse, but moral values change over time," Cho said.

The court ruled the law discriminated against gay men because the legal age for consensual gay sex, 21, was higher than the age for heterosexual sex, which is 16. Homosexual behavior was illegal in Hong Kong until 1991.

Tsang said young people needed protection, and "it is a bit too much" for youngsters of 16 to be involved in gay sex, the newspaper reported.

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