A Chinese tycoon once offered millions to marry lesbian daughter

Remember our 2012 story about ? Chinese A businessman trying to find a marriage partner lesbian Daughter Gigi Chao for a considerable amount of money?

Hong Kong real estate mogul Cecil Chao (Zhao Shizheng) offered US$65 million to a man who wanted to take on the “challenge” that turned his daughter into an LGBTQ+ icon.

Chao, now 45, was inundated with thousands of unwanted marriage proposals from all over the world in hopes of becoming straight. She is currently one of Hong Kong’s leading businesswomen and activists.

Some women reportedly offered their husbands. It is said that there were a total of 20,000 offers, but Chao remained unfazed. Because she was a lesbian and was in a civil partnership with another woman. He had been with the woman for nine years, and they eloped to Paris to get married.

When her father found out about the elopement, he decided to throw money at the “problem”.

“I’m glad it happened,” Gigi Chao said. Thomson Reuters Foundation A few years later in 2018.

“I was able to put a comical spin on a subject that is often marred by so many tragedies and taboos,” the 38-year-old told the rights group at the time.

The 81-year-old billionaire then doubled his offer to suitors to HK$1 billion (US$127 million) in 2014.

In response to her father’s request, Chao decided to write an open letter, which was published in Hong Kong’s national newspapers.

Entitled “Dear Dad, You Must Accept That I’m a Lesbian,” it urged people to treat their partners as “normal, dignified human beings.”

Homosexuality has been decriminalized in Hong Kong since 1991.

Gigi Chao has inspiredly turned her negative experiences into vibrant activities. In 2017, she became deeply involved in campaigning on behalf of a British lesbian who was refused a visa to live with her wife in Hong Kong.

The woman was allowed to take her husband with her on her spousal visa, but because Hong Kong law does not allow same-sex marriage, immigration authorities in the former British colony repeatedly rejected her applications for a spousal visa. I’ve been doing it.

The plaintiffs ultimately prevailed, marking a landmark ruling for LGBTQ+ rights in Hong Kong.

Gigi Chao also founded this organization in 2019. marriage equality in hong kong Advocates for the legalization of same-sex marriage in Hong Kong.