Meaning:

    “请” means to “invite,” and “喝茶” means to “drink tea.” Literally, the term means to “invite somebody to have some tea.” In Guangdong Province, there is the custom to have a kind of brunch with tea. People gather in restaurants for snack-size dishes and dim sum (often including buns, dumplings, rice noodles, cakes and others) with friends and relatives. But the term has also been used as a metaphor for “being investigated” if somebody is invited to “have tea” by the public security bureau or disciplinary departments. This could be borrowing from Hong Kong ICAC’s practice of “inviting someone for a cup of coffee.”

    Example:

    A: 小王好像最近不怎么在论坛发言了。

    Xiǎowáng hǎoxiàng zuìjìn bù zěnme zài lùntán fāyán le。

    It seems that Xiaowang doesn’t talk much lately on BBS.

    B: 他现在谨慎了。因为上次在网上散布谣言，他被派出所请去喝茶了。

    Tā xiànzài jǐnshèn le。Yīnwèi shàngcì zài wǎngshàng sànbù yáoyán, tā bèi pàichūsuǒ qǐng qù hēchá le。

    He has learned to be discreet. He was taken to the police station for investigation after he spread rumors online last time.

    A: 吃一堑长一智啊。

    Chīyīqiàn zhǎngyīzhì a。

    He learned from his mistakes.