During Hong Kong's LGBT Pride celebration on Saturday, attended by an estimated 2,000 people, rainbows in all forms filled the streets of the Causeway Bay district -- from flags to balloons to umbrellas.
While that last item could be interpreted as a simple tool to protect festival-goers from the rain, some reportedly carried the umbrellas as a nod to pro-democracy protestors who have periodically overtaken parts of the former British colony in recent months, carrying out what has been dubbed by The Guardian as Hong Kong's "Umbrella Revolution." Notably, the umbrellas carried by Pride celebrants bore the familiar colors of the rainbow, rather than the often yellow or solid-color umbrellas of those demanding democracy and elections free from Chinese government influence.
Even as the popularity of the pro-democracy rallies have waned in recent weeks as demonstrations tied up traffic, making it difficult for people to get to work, it appears Hong Kong is more accepting of its LGBT residents than ever before. According to U.K. LGBT outlet PinkNews, a recent study from the University of Hong Kong's Centre for Comparative and Public Law found that 60 percent of Hong Kongers support an ordinance that will soon make it unlawful to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. A whopping 83 percent of repsondents in the study said that parents should love their children regardless of sexual orientation.
Nevertheless, marriage equality is not permitted in Hong Kong, with the local government even forbidding same-sex couples from marrying inside British Consulates. Interestingly, mainland China (and many other nations without marriage equality) allows same-sex couples to marry inside British Consulates, which are technically considered to be on U.K. soil.
Check out these stunning photos from Hong Kong Pride 2014:
People march in Causeway Bay district during the Gay Pride Parade in Hong Kong on November 8.
People gather at Victoria Park ahead of the Gay Pride Parade.
Antigay protesters are seen at Victoria Park before the Hong Kong's Gay Pride Parade.
A woman poses for a picture at Victoria Park.
People march in Causeway Bay district during the Gay Pride Parade.
Drag is a universal language of Pride, even in Hong Kong.
Victoria Park with a skyline of high-rise buildings in the background.
