[2] Compiled from: Tianxin District People's Court
 
[3] Recently, the Tianxin District People's Court of Changsha City issued a first-instance verdict on this personality rights dispute case, where both parties involved in the online quarrel not only had to apologize in the homeowners' group but also compensate for the losses related to the physical injuries inflicted on each other.
 
Case review
[4] Sun Xiaoling and Wang Xiaomeng are both homeowners in Meihao Jiayuan, one being a piano teacher and the other a member of the homeowners' committee supervisory board.

 
 

[5] In August 2020, a homeowner in the Meihao Jiayuan homeowners' group questioned the non-disclosure of the committee's public revenue. Sun Xiaoling expressed her opinion on the matter in the group, leading to her first verbal conflict with Wang Xiaomeng in the group. Later, because Sun Xiaoling converted her residential property into a commercial training class, Wang Xiaomeng, as a committee member, cooperated with relevant authorities to shut down the illegal residential-to-commercial conversion, further escalating the conflict between the two.
 
[6] In October 2021, Sun Xiaoling went to Wang Xiaomeng's home late at night to harass and pound on the door, prompting Wang Xiaomeng to call the police. After the police arrived and assessed the situation, they deemed it a neighborhood dispute that should be resolved through mutual negotiation.
 
In November 2021, Sun Xiaoling encountered Wu Xiaolong, the director of the community's owners' committee, and a verbal conflict ensued. Later, Wang Xiaomeng arrived at the scene and clashed with Sun Xiaoling.
 
Subsequently, the public called the police, and officers arrived to investigate the cause of the conflict. Finding both parties at fault, they brought the plaintiff and defendant back to the station for mediation. However, due to the heightened emotions at the time, mediation could not be achieved temporarily.

 
 

After mediation failed, Sun Xiaoling filed a lawsuit against Wang Xiaomeng in the Tianxin District Court, requesting that Wang apologize to her in the WeChat group and compensate for losses.
 
 
Civil Code of the People's Republic of China
Article 1024
Civil subjects enjoy the right to reputation. No organization or individual may infringe upon others’ right to reputation by means of insult, defamation, or the like.
Reputation refers to the social evaluation of a civil subject’s moral character, prestige, talent, credit, and the like.

 
 

 
[1] The author's perspective
A citizen's right to reputation reflects the inviolability of their personal dignity. As the vulgar remarks made by both parties in the group chat were derogatory, constituting insults, defamation, and a reduction of others' social standing, the court ultimately ruled that both the plaintiff and defendant must issue written apologies and make them public in the relevant WeChat group.
 
As the saying goes, harmony is most precious, and neighbors should live together in harmony. The internet is not a lawless space. When posting comments on online platforms, one must adhere to public order and good customs, comply with laws and regulations, and not cross the "legal red line"; otherwise, they must bear corresponding legal responsibility for their words and actions.