Shanghai Yangpu Court has ordered Sohu.com (SOHU) to pay CNY5000 for emotional compensation and make a public apology to Professor Hua Wei from Fudan University for some improper words that were published on its portal website.

In May 2005, a netizen with the nickname of "the citizen of Shanghai" published two articles on Sohu, that supposedly disclosed details about how professor Hua had abused authority for personal gain by selling real estate and how he was punished by his university. Many netizens then criticized professor Hua and caused him much embarrassment.

Later, another netizen called "Yi Yuan Fang Chan" spread similar gossip aabout professor Hua on Sohu.com.

Professor Hua Wei sent two letters to Sohu.com after learning about the libel, requesting the website to remove all the content. After Sohu failed to do so, he filed the lawsuit against Sohu.com.