The two people caught on closed circuit television kissing and hugging at a Shanghai metro station have said they will seek to resolve the issue through negotiations with the metro operator.

The metro company has apologized to the couple for the "inappropriate behavior of its former employees" and has agreed to hold further talks with them this weekend, Wang Fei (not his real name), the man taped in the video, told China Daily yesterday.

Wang said the video was put on the Internet by former employees of the Shanghai Metro Company and the matter will be further pursued against them.

With regard to the metro company, the couple will discuss with its lawyer about compensation and a public apology. "The results will depend on the attitude and proposals of the metro company," Wang said.

"We will try to get a peaceful resolution and avoid a lawsuit against the company, if our legitimate requests are met."

"However, if the final proposals are unsatisfactory, a lawsuit will be unavoidable," he said.

Following an internal investigation, the metro company said it had established how the video came to be shot and uploaded to the Internet. It may also take legal action against the former employees, Shanghai's Oriental Morning Post reported.

The video of the pair kissing and hugging was seen by thousands online this month.

Li Ming, a deputy to the Shanghai people's congress, said it was "a very serious case of a person's rights being infringed". He said regulations should be tightened to ensure better supervision of public transport departments, and protection of people's rights.

Zhao Jingjin, a university student, said: "After this case, I will have to be very careful in public places, especially subway stations."

(China Daily January 25, 2008)