Recently, a seat dispute on the Shanghai subway in China has sparked widespread attention online. Video footage shows an 83-year-old man demanding a young man to give up his spot in the "Love Seat" for elderly passengers, which was met with refusal. The elderly man then attempted to pull on the young man's backpack to force him to yield the seat, while the young man remained unfazed, wearing headphones.

During the incident, the young man, dressed in a t-shirt and shorts, was seated in a designated "Love Seat" marked in green near the door, while the elderly man held an umbrella and nervously urged him to give up his seat. Despite claiming he was 83 years old, the young man remained obstinate and even requested another passenger to record the altercation, declaring, "I don’t want to give up my seat, and I’m calling the police. I initially wanted to let the elderly man have it, but with his attitude, I won’t budge. He’s louder than I am." The Shanghai subway staff confirmed that designated seats exist for elderly passengers but emphasized that young individuals are not compelled to relinquish their seats.

The public's opinion on this incident has polarized. Some assert that able-bodied individuals should certainly yield seats to the elderly, while others criticize the elderly man for forcefully demanding a seat and resorting to physical measures after being denied, which is deemed to disrupt public order. As the situation evolved, netizens unearthed the elderly man's background, revealing he receives a pension exceeding 10,000 RMB and lives comfortably, prompting supporters to question why someone with such financial security would seize public resources.