Corporate Gay Activism 3

7.  Education, Affluence and Social Pressure
8.  Everybody's Got An Angle
9.  Hypocrisy Of Hong Kong's Morality Militia 


7.  Education, Affluence And Social Pressure

1.  Some general truths:

1. With increased education, comes increased affluence; 
2. With increased affluence, comes corporate and societal questioning; 
3. With questioning, people get uncomfortable and worked up;
4. Social pressure kicks in, ostensibly driven by a desire for fairness, equity and comparisons with other countries or, perceived social trends and societal shifts;
5. Bias, Bigotry and Beliefs emerge;
6. There is a clash in moral values; 
7. The situation:

• drops off the radar;
• simmers in the background;
• comes to the foreground via a catalyst;
• is compromised as a socio-political decision to nobody's satisfaction e.g. a company's internal policy stated in a publicly available Code of Conduct which is the subject of social heckling;
• is allegedly resolved by legislation as a socio-political decision with mixed results;
• is adjudicated by the Courts in the context of socio-politics, common law and legislation, to nobody's satisfaction and mixed results, but which may stand as acceptable and non-acceptable behaviour;

Rinse and Repeat.


8.  Everybody's Got An Angle

1. Hong Kong is an educated, affluent society (with really bad air pollution) which for the first time in its history, is undergoing immense societal and political polarization (a global trend by the way). There's a whingeing pro-establishment or, anti-establishment politician on every street corner, wealth inequality is staggering, locals are fed up with Mainland chinks "our Mainland brothers and sisters" (the semi-official Hong Kong Government phrase) and there's no shortage of social issues that need confronting and resolution. 

2.  Everybody's got an angle. Those that direct Corporate Social Responsibility in Hong Kong have 5 main choices:

• Environmental - airlines and shipping companies refusing to transport sharks fins that end up in restaurants (Cathay Pacific, Cathay Dragon, Air China and Orient Overseas Shipping Lines);
• Political - Companies caving in or not caving in to political pressure (Lancome's decision to pull its sponsorship of singer and democracy activist, Denise Ho Wan-sze and then temporarily closing its stores in Hong Kong to avoid protests);
• Charitable - corporate donations of time and money (SCMP's Operation Santa Claus or Central's Rat Race);
• Social Enterprises - corporate donations of time, money, expertise, access to the corporate networks of contacts to small companies engaging in beneficial social impact;
• The Really Sensitive Subjects - like gay rights and gay health in the corporation and in society (Japan Airlines and Tokyo Disneyland declaring their support for GLBT, Thailand Business Coalition on AIDS);
  

3.  And Hong Kong wants to host the Gay Games in 2020.  

4.  In other words, the entire Hong Kong Pink Bubble of gay rights that had been simmering in the background, has been given a double catalyst:

• HSBC's very public endorsement of pride and diversity at the end of 2016 via its "gay lions";  display outside its Head Office; and
• mounting anticipation that Hong Kong will host the Gay Games in 2020;

5.  If the spin-off is the rehabilitation of corporate image, that reputational goodwill might translate into dollars on the Balance Sheet.  From HSBC's point of view that's a Win-Win.

6.  Then add:

• openly gay local Chinese politicians;
• high profile events like the Hong Kong Gay And Lesbian Film Festival;
• gay activists speaking to the media; 
• gay artists and entertainers speaking to the media;
• increasing popularity of Hong Kong's Gay Pride "Pink Dot" on the Central Waterfront;
• gay expatriates in international companies who may be in a same-sex relationship (which is not recognized in Hong Kong);
• calls for anti-discrimination legislation to protect sexual orientation;
• a declining gay scene in Hong Kong and widespread suspicions of price-gouging;
• comparisons to gay rights and the gay scene in Taiwan;

and the stage is set for a showdown, compromise or resolution.  Remember, Hong Kong may be highly westernized and modern, but it is also highly conservative. 

7.  Rightly or wrongly, HSBC realized which way the (Gay) wind was blowing in Hong Kong and engaged in a pubic display of rainbow painted lions, which had multiple levels of interpretation. 

8.  It gave the bank a very public "First Mover Advantage" which we suspect will be used in the background with other multi-nationals to pressure the Hong Kong Government to overhaul gay rights in Hong Kong. Under Hong Kong's political structure, the Functional Constituencies in the Legislative Council give companies a lot of power to lobby and influence. 

9.  This thing is only just beginning.


COMING UP IN PART 4:

9.  Hypocrisy Of Hong Kong's Morality Militia

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