Communists play Cupid in hopes of a baby boom

WORKING long hours at one of China’s biggest car plants, lovelorn Chen Tianxing had few opportunities to meet girls.

But under a yellow and red banner saying “Wuhan Communist Youth League hope you can quickly find your other half ”, Mr Chen met a young nurse who would change his life.

The pair were among dozens of young singletons attending a blind date event organised by the CYL in Wuhan, central China, two years ago.

Back then there were few such officially-organised events, but with growing numbers of young Chinese more interested in enjoying the fruits of a booming economy than settling down with a family, China’s Communist Party rulers have decided to play Cupid.

A notice issued last week by the CYL, Ministry of Civil Affairs and National Health and Family Planning Commission issued guidance for “improving the social supporting system for young love and marriage”.

The guidance also regulates unofficial online dating platforms, ordering them to “crack down severely on marriage cheats”.

Authorities expected a baby boom after the one child policy ended last year, but it failed to materialise.

“Too many singletons will put more pressure on China’s ageing population,” said Zhang Ning, an economics expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. “It will make the struggling pension situation even more challenging.”

Mr Chen said he will always be grateful to the CYL for setting up the moment when he met Zhang Hongchi, who he married in January. “I remember saying she was pretty, and luckily she felt I was nice too,” he said. Additional reporting by Christine Wei