The long-standing Chinese tradition of giving hongbao, or “lucky money”, received a modern update through the popularization of online payment services. With location restrictions lifted, these new e-hongbao have been used in a number of innovative ways during the Spring Festival to raise holiday cheer, most notably as prizes to be given out during the nationally televised Spring Festival gala.

This year, things have escalated to the next level. WeChat has brieftly unveiled a new feature for its users whereby these electronic hongbao can be used to unlock “censored” photos. From 5 until 8pm, WeChat users were able to solicit hongbao from their friends by tempting them with photos that have been blurred out, hoping that they’ll take the bait.

 

It’s not clear if this feature will return as Spring Festival gets closer. It’s also not clear why the feature was offered for only a short period of time, or if it inspired users to break online regulations concerning the propagation of pornography. Although some Chinese maintain that this “lucky money” is simply a traditional custom, it remains that hongbao are gifts of money that are often associated with procuring favors.

Chinese netizens soundly ridiculed the online social circle money-making venture with many people dismissing the idea as “poor” and “frustrating”. One netizen said, “I’m not going to do this for just a few mao,”

Other netizens referred to the type of content they want to see on their WeChat accounts. One person said, “I don’t want to see a bunch of pixelated porno photos, and that goes double for selfies I have to pay money to see,” while another said, “Each one of (these people in my friends’ circle) are so ugly, and yet they still want me to pay money to see (their pictures)?”

Some people even saw the new feature as an improvement. “Finally, a way for me not to see so many pictures (on my WeChat account),” remarked another person.

Even the Shenzhen Traffic Police, who have always been at the forefront of social media, got in on the joke. The Shenzhen police posted this picture, asking users to upvote them in order to “uncensor” it: