Three transgender people who identify as male lost their legal bid on Friday to be recognised as such on their Hong Kong identity cards, in a setback for the LGBT movement to achieve equal rights. While expressing sympathy, High Court judge Mr Justice Thomas Au Hing-cheung ruled against the three applicants, Henry Tse, Q and R, and said a complete sex change would be the only “workable way” for the local government to determine a person’s gender. Although the trio, all born female, identify as men, and have had their breasts removed and undergone hormone therapy, they all still have their uterus and ovaries – which was the point of contention in their legal challenges against the city’s commissioner of registration. The judge also shrugged off suggestions that insisting on a gender reassignment operation was akin to torture, and said it was a consented choice which had medical benefits.