要闻资讯

日常生活中，好友之间通过微信发红包或者转账的情况十分常见。然而，双方一旦因此产生纠纷转账和红包产生的经济往来是否属于同一性质？

据此，嘉潍律师事务所赵占领律师接受《China daily》采访，对此类案件进行解读。

With Chinese New Year around the corner, those sending out digital "red packets" of money via WeChat have been advised to make it clear whether their gift is actually a gift, or whether it is a loan.

（随着春节的临近，喜欢微信发送数字“红包”的人要警惕自己的红包是真的礼金，还是贷款。）

The alert comes in the wake of a case last year, where a woman surnamed Liu and a man surnamed Zhou had a dispute over whether the funds that had been transferred between them were gifts or loans expected to be repaid.

（随着去年一起案件被大众关注，此类话题也不断引起讨论。当时刘女士和周先生就双方之间转移的资金是礼金还是预期偿还的贷款发生了纠纷。）

Beijing Haidian District People's Court heard that from 2020 to 2021, Liu provided Zhou with a total of 15,669 yuan ($2,180), either through WeChat red packets or money transfers.

（北京市海淀区人民法院获悉，从2020年到2021年，刘女士通过微信红包或转账的方式，共向周先生提供了15669元人民币(合2180美元)。）

Zhou insisted that the money was given to him, not a loan, even though Liu had urged him to repay the money several times. The two failed to negotiate, so Liu initiated the lawsuit.

（刘女士曾多次催促周先生偿还借贷，但周先生辩称，这笔钱是赠予他的，而不是贷款。两人协商失败，于是刘女士向法院提起了诉讼。）

The court eventually identified 2,769 yuan sent via red packets as gift money that did not need to be repaid, because the pair's online chat records showed that Liu indicated the red packets, each containing less than 200 yuan, were used to support Zhou's daily expenses.

As for the remaining 12,900 yuan sent through WeChat transfer, the court deemed it as a loan, ordering Zhou to pay back the money, because no evidence could prove the sum was a gift.

（法院最终认定，通过红包发送的2769元人民币作为不需要偿还的礼金。双方的聊天记录显示，刘女士曾作出赠与的意思，用于支持周先生的日常开支，且每个红包不到200元。至于通过微信转账的剩余12900元，法院认为这是一笔贷款，考虑到周先生曾向刘女士借款还贷等情况，刘女士向周先生通过微信转账支付款项的应认定系其向周先生提供的借款，周先生应予偿还。）

Calling for residents to be wary of online transfers, the court stressed that the verdict does not mean all WeChat red packets can be identified as gift money and all fund transfers as loans.

（法院呼吁，要警惕网上转账，并强调该判决并不意味着所有的微信红包都可以被认定为礼金，所有的微信转账都可以被认定为贷款。）

In another lawsuit in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, a court rejected a man's claim for his ex-girlfriend to return the red packets he had sent to her through WeChat, identifying the money as a gift.

（在江苏省南京市的另一起诉讼案件中，一名男子要求前女友退还他通过微信发给她的红包，法院驳回了这一要求，认定这些钱是礼金。）

The cases went viral on Chinese social media after they were made public on Monday, with topics related to the lawsuits receiving over 340 million views on Sina Weibo as of 6 pm.

（此案被媒体报道后，在中国网络上引起热议，截至当日下午6点，新浪微博上与诉讼相关的话题浏览量超过3.4亿。）

Zhao Zhanling, a lawyer from Beijing JAVY Law Firm, agreed that WeChat red envelopes are generally sent by users at festivals, or on the birthdays of recipients, and most have special meanings.

（北京嘉潍律师事务所赵占领律师认为，微信红包通常是用户在节日或收件人生日时发送的，而且大多数都有特殊的含义。）

Many people send a 520-yuan red packet on Valentine's Day to express affection to their partners, as the numbers "5-2-0"sound similar to wo ai ni in Chinese, which means "I love you" in English.

（许多人在情人节送520元的红包来表达对伴侣的爱意，因为数字“5-2-0”在中文里听起来和“我爱你”很像，在英语里意思是“我爱你”。）

"The money is more of a vehicle to express emotion in these moments," Zhao said.

（“在这些时刻，钱更多的是一种表达情感的工具”，赵占领律师表示。）

"When sending red packets, people often write some notes to express wishes, such as good luck in competitions and congratulating newlyweds, which also shows that the packets, compared with funds transfers, are more like a way to socialize."

（“在发红包的时候，人们通常会写一些祝福语来表达祈愿，比如比赛好运、祝贺新婚。这也表明，与资金转账相比，红包更像是一种社交方式。”）

He suggested people clarify the meaning of the money and take screenshots of the conversation, especially when lending money through WeChat to prevent similar problems.

（赵占领律师建议，人们应该澄清钱的含义，并对聊天对话进行截图，特别是在通过微信借钱时，以防止类似问题的发生。）