Around one in two gay men fear coming out to their loved ones in Hong Kong, a damning study has revealed. Against rapidly climbing HIV diagnoses and political crises in the former British colony, queer men struggle to be open about their sexual identities. Many HIV and healthcare specialists cite the pervasive taboo against homosexuality as a core cause of the growth in HIV acquisition rates. Currently, Hong Kong, which returned to Chinese rule 22 years ago, does not recognise marriage equality or civil partnerships for same-sex couples. Although, its Bill of Rights Ordinance offers some protections against anti-LGBT+ discrimination for government employees. A survey by the South China Morning Post, which ran from June 2018 to March 2019, found that 53.3 percent of Hong Kong Chinese cited rejection as the primary reason they are in the closet.