A Beijing man gifted 740,000 RMB to a female livestreamer, interpreting her phrase ‘give birth to a monkey’ as romantic consent. When she clarified they were only friends, he sued for refund. The court ruled no fraud occurred and dismissed the claim.

Social Context

Under China’s 2022 Online Live Streaming Industry Guidelines, platforms must implement real-time content moderation for suggestive language—but ‘innocuous slang’ like ‘sheng houzi’ (a homophone for ‘make a baby’) falls outside prohibited speech. Courts consistently uphold gifts as voluntary unless deception about identity or intent is proven, reinforcing the principle of user responsibility in digital interactions.

Safety Tip

Treat all live-streaming gifts as irreversible donations; verify identities and intentions offline before significant gifting, and use platform dispute channels—not litigation—for ambiguous communications.