Chinese same-sex couple face the consequences of their public proposal video

A newly-engaged lesbian couple in China say they were questioned and threatened by their university’s party secretary after proposing on graduation day to protest the country’s laws against same-sex marriage.

An LGBT group recorded and posted a video on social media of Wang Xiaoya accepting a marriage proposal from her longtime girlfriend Huang Yang after her graduation at the Guangdong University of Foreign Studies.

The uplifting video was widely shared on social media, but the couple’s public display of same-sex love quickly sparked an angry backlash from their university, who began pressuring the couple to remove the video, the BBC reports.

The couple claim that he university withheld Xiaoyu’s diploma, called her parents and had police raid her room, with staff telling her to “keep your homosexuality to yourselves and do not pester others”.

The fallout from the video has divided internet users in China, with the couple receiving messages of both negativity and support, but Xiaoya is now alling on people to sign her petition to pressure the university into apologising.

Huang Yang said: “This proposal is a proof of love. And also this could make people aware that there are sexual minorities on campus as well.”

In China, same-sex marriage is still not recognised and the university celebrated a group wedding ceremony for 50 graduates in 2015 but do not provide same-sex couples with the same regards.

There has never been a public statement on homosexuality despite several protests and public petitions for same-sex marriages. In the most recent legal case in April this year, a gay couple fighting to have their marriage officially recognised were rejected despite hundreds of LGBT supporters gathering to show their support.

Watch the BBC’s report on the story below:

Words: Charlotte Callear

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