Law enforcement alerted to firm offering LGBTQ surrogacy services in Hong Kong

Hong Kong’s regulator for in vitro fertilisation (IVF) has referred a case to law enforcement agencies after a mainland Chinese influencer was suspected of offering to bring non-local surrogate mothers of LGBTQ parents to give birth in the city.

Tan Zubiao, also known as Berlin Sun, had set up a company in the city and advertised on social media commercial surrogacy services for LGBTQ couples, according to Hong Kong media.

Tan and his foreign husband, who have two children through surrogacy, were deported from Taiwan’s Kaohsiung last Thursday after being fined NT$200,000 (HK$48,109) for breaching Taiwan’s Medical Care Act by offering assisted-reproductive services.

In a written reply to the South China Morning Post on Sunday morning, Hong Kong’s Council on Human Reproductive Technology said commercial surrogacy arrangements and the distribution of related advertisements were prohibited under the city’s Human Reproductive Technology Ordinance.

“The Department of Health has referred the case to the council. After seeking legal advice, the council has referred the case to law enforcement agencies for follow-up action,” it said.

The SCMP has reached out to Hong Kong police for comment.

According to screengrabs of Tan’s Instagram posts published in Hong Kong media, Tan had since August claimed to have helped LGBTQ clients obtain Hong Kong permanent residency and Hong Kong passports for their children, with photos showing newborn babies, Hong Kong identity cards, birth certificates and passports.

“We solve a key pain point for global Chinese LGBTQ+ families: a Hong Kong passport can be held alongside other national passports. Gifting your child a lifelong travel document is one of the greatest gifts parents can give,” one of his posts said.

According to another screengrab from his Instagram stories titled “IVF Angel Plan”, Tan wrote that he was satisfied to have helped “milk daddies” - a reference to gay fathers - with the birth of their babies by bringing their surrogates to Hong Kong. The post showed two male clients with an infant.

Tan has subsequently turned his Instagram and Threads accounts private, while his company’s website, Babysun Fertility Center, is no longer available. The company has also deleted all its posts on Instagram.