Hong Kong authorities have defended the need to set up an official registration system for same-sex partnerships, saying that record-keeping alone is insufficient to allow the government to verify marriages overseas.

The bill, so far opposed by at least 41 members of the 89-strong Legislative Council, went through its first clause-by-clause examination by the bills committee on Friday morning, when the government rebutted lawmaker Erik Yim Kong’s suggestion to set up a record-keeping system instead.

Yim said that a record-keeping arrangement would help minimise the “social impact” and expenditures, and that the government’s plan to set up a registration office and a registrar might “perceptually bring same-sex partnerships to the same level as marriage”.

“After completing registration, the same-sex couples might hold bouquets and even wear wedding gowns [at the office], taking pictures and sharing them on social media. This may give society a sense of de facto marriage.”

Yim further proposed that the government could just issue acknowledgements of record-keeping, instead of registration certificates, and send them to applicants by post or even electronically.

“In doing so, it mitigates the social impacts and saves the government’s expenditures.”

But Solicitor General Llewellyn Mui Kei-fat said that record-keeping alone would not enable authorities to verify whether the applications met the criteria stipulated by the bill.