Hong Kong activists and lawyers slammed a new policy governing the changing of gender on ID cards Wednesday, saying the rule shift, which follows a court decision, still requires invasive surgery.

The city’s top court decided in 2023 that it was unconstitutional for the government to require a person to complete full gender reassignment surgery before the “sex entry” on their ID card could be changed.

The policy presented “an unacceptably harsh burden on the individuals concerned”, the Court of Final Appeal ruled at the time.