Chinese couple spend wedding night writing out communist doctrine

Pen, paper and the Chinese constitution aren't typically words associated with a wedding night. But according to reports in China, it's how one couple chose to spend their first night of marital bliss.

The newlyweds were left with "fond memories of their wedding night", after transcribing the 15,000-character Chinese Communist Party constitution by hand, according to an online post by the Nanchang Railway Bureau.

Li Yunpeng and Chen Xuan, both employees of the organisation, were pictured writing the document on a desk near a bed covered with red balloons and white folded swans. The bride is pictured in a traditional wedding dress, with red symbolising good luck in Chinese culture.

The image has since gone viral on social media, with netizens and online commentators alike weighing in.

It was all part of a national education campaign launched in March to "copy the constitution for 100 days", according to reports by the Global Times.

And according to The Paper, state-owned Nanchang Railway Bureau had been encouraging all their employees to participate in the campaign, writing a few pages every day.

The organisation said it would showcase outstanding examples, and that handwriting the constitution had now become "part of everyday life".

In a blogpost on the People Daily website, known as the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, one commentator pointed out that given the daily requirement of copying 150 characters, it would only take "a few minutes" for the couple to have copied the document on their wedding night.

But he questioned why the bride and groom chose their wedding when there were "365 other days to choose from".

A report has also surfaced on the blog page of Phoenix Chinese News questioning the authenticity of the pictures.

In the original blogpost, the article points out that the bride's red nail polish can be distinctly seen in the photo. The groom is also pictured wearing a watch despite the main picture clearly showing him with no accessories on his wrist.

In this image, the bride is distinctly pictured with no nail polish, prompting the post to question if the pictures were staged.

The post has since been reposted on popular Chinese social media site Weibo.

In a post, a user states that there are too many discrepancies in the pictures, with the couple writing on a rectangular table in one picture, and a circular picture in another. He sums it up by asking whether the couple are "learning, or acting".

A Weibo post by the Beijing News also stated that copying the constitution under such circumstances was "contrary to common sense".

Since taking over in 2012, President Xi Jinping has attempted to consolidate the Party's power over the country. He has also pledged to "disseminate modern Chinese values", as well as deepen reforms in the cultural system.

The General Office of the CPC Central Committee called on "party committees at all levels" to implement the writing campaign, according to the state news agency Xinhua.

It also added that the campaign should target party members with "wavering confidence in communism and socialism with Chinese characteristics, as well as those who advocate Western values, violate Party rules, work inefficiently or behave unethically."