The incident occurred Aug. 18 on a train in Jiangsu Province, according to Chinese media reports.

The two girls had purchased three seats, using one to hold snacks and other personal belongings.

A middle-aged woman holding a standing ticket asked to use the unoccupied seat, but the girls declined.

“Everyone is on the same train, we should sympathize with each other, shouldn’t we?” the woman was quoted as saying.

When she failed to convince them, she called train staff to intervene.

After verifying that the two girls had valid tickets for all three seats, train personnel informed the woman that the decision to yield the space was entirely up to the ticket holders. The woman had to stand for the remainder of her journey.

A representative of the China State Railway Group later confirmed that ticket buyers have the right to use the seats they purchase. Any other passenger wishing to use an extra seat must obtain the owner’s consent.

The incident sparked a heated debate on Chinese social media. Many commenters defend the two girls, arguing that they had paid for all three seats and were entitled to use them.

“Giving up a seat is a favor, not a duty,” has become a frequently repeated comment in online discussions, with many pushing back against accusations that the girls are “heartless.”

Others criticized the middle-aged woman for what they described as “moral pressure,” arguing that she should not have relied on train staff to persuade the girls to give up their seat.

One commenter compared the situation to owning multiple homes, arguing that paying for something does not mean the owner is obliged to share it, while others simply described the woman as “annoying,” Hong Kong Orange News reported.

But some commenters took the opposite view, arguing that train seats are intended for passengers rather than luggage or food, particularly on crowded routes where tickets can be difficult to obtain.