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Joanne Leung

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Joanne Leung Wing-yan (born Donne) is the first publicized transsexual woman in Hong Kong. Born with a male body, she underwent sex-reassignment surgery in 2009 to become a woman. She became the founder and chairperson of Pink Alliance and Transgender Resource Centre (TGR), two active non-governmental organizations that aim to service the LGBT community and promote LGBT cultures. Leung identifies as a lesbian.

Biography

Leung states that she knew she should physically be a girl by the time she was six. As a child, she didn't know how to deal with bullies and kept her feelings to herself. Hiding her transgender identity led to four attempted suicides. In 2004, she consulted a sex clinic to find about sex reassignment surgery. In 2009, she finally underwent the operation.

After surgery, she started to think about supporting the transgender community. Leung would like for society in Hong Kong to learn more about transsexual and transgender individuals. Leung has been fighting hard yet for LGTB rights in the territory. She wants to ensure that other transgender people do not have to go through what she endured since there is only little information available for them. She helped set up the Transgender Resource Centre (TGR) which helps support transgender individuals and provides education about transgender issues. Leung works with TGR on a full-time basis.

In 2014, Leung received her degree in computing from the University of Greenwich. Also in 2014, she spoke to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and was the first transgender person from Hong Kong to do so. She was also openly vocal in her opposition to an amendment to the Marriage Ordinance which would require transgender individuals to have sex reassignment surgery before they could marry. In 2015, Leung joined the Democratic Party in Hong Kong in order to inform the party's stance on LGBT issues. She ran in the party primaries of 2016 Hong Kong Legislative election, but was defeated by Lam Cheuk-ting, who subsequently won in the general election.

References

Joanne Leung Wikipedia