Recognition Without Meaning: Relational Justice and the Affective Disqualification of Queer Intimacy in Hong Kong

This article frames the paradox of queer recognition in Hong Kong by analysing the legal treatment of same-sex couples under HKCFA 28. It revealed that the Court secured protection by firmly anchoring legal acknowledgement in privacy, but withheld dignity by excluding same-sex couples’ civic status. Synthesising the concepts of affective disqualification and relational justice, it claims that ethical inclusion must be measured not merely by the entitlements it secures but also by the forms of moral goods it validates. The analysis illustrates that privacy serves as an idiom of regulation, confining intimacy to the domain of private utility, and proposes a juridical logic that treats relational life as a common good. The discussion also draws out implications for comparative discussions on governing intimacy in post-colonial jurisdictions elsewhere.