A series of adverts urging people to be more accepting of gay people has launched in China.

The ad series, titled ‘Love is not a Choice’, launched on social media in the country – and is aimed at breaking China’s strong cultural taboo surrounding homosexuality.

The ads feature gay couples in their homes, and read: “Love is not a choice. We did not choose to be homosexual. We just are. Happily, the world is big enough for all of us.”

David Li of the China LGBT Awareness Campaign told Huffington Post: “The majority [in China] still think being gay is either perverted or a kind of illness

“And of course, due to the general censorship, it’s extremely difficult to get positive LGBT information out to the public.

“The biggest challenge that LGBT [people] have right now in China, I think, is the lack of safety that we feel all the time.

“We fear that our identity might be exposed and trouble will come along with that: education, job, hospital, [renting] an apartment. All kinds of trouble.”

Moly Mao – who married her wife in Hawaii and lives with her in Shanghai – said: “We want to tell them, ‘We are out and we can live a very happy and light life, not just stand in the shadow.’ That is no use for us.”

Homosexuality has been legal in China since 1997 – but same-sex couples lack legal recognition and are not afforded basic rights.