Watch: Beijing subway gay marriage proposal

A video of a gay Chinese man surprising commuters by proposing to his partner on the Beijing subway has gone viral.

The man got down on one knee and popped the question to his boyfriend with a watch as passengers gathered around the couple and filmed the proposal on their phones.

“Today, I invite all the people we know and do not know to bear witness,” he said before putting the watch on his partner’s wrist.

The men then embraced. While some passengers shouted “disgusting” and “sin” many appeared to have applauded the lovebirds.

According to the BBC, passenger Bai Yiyan Vina, who posted a video of the proposal on the Weibo social media site, wrote: “As usual, I was taking the subway home, but contrary to what I was expecting, I encountered a couple’s love… I think this is really incredible.”

Other comments posted on Weibo included, “Those who say this is disgusting, you are not qualified to judge others.”

Another viewer of the video added: “You should admire their courage. Just because they are people you don’t understand, and even with the pressures of those looking down on them as ‘sinful’, they are still brave to express their love.”

The couple’s union can only be a symbolic one in China, where same-sex marriage is not legal.

While homosexuality was legalised in China in 1997, LGBT people have no specific protections from discrimination, and homosexuality largely remains a taboo.