Photo: ifeng.com

Two protesters from East China's Jiangxi Province were detained Monday after organizing a group of people to sit and copy the Constitution of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in front of the provincial court.

Photos showing a dozen people gathered in front of the Jiangxi Provincial High People's Court and transcribing the Party Constitution went viral online on Monday. The demonstrators also hung a red banner over the court's gate, which reads, "[We will] write down the Party Constitution for 100 days to urge the court's Vice President Guo Bin to become a qualified CPC member."

Jiangxi authorities announced Tuesday that the protesters were hired by local real estate company Ganpo to petition illegally in front of the court in an attempt to circumvent a court order to pay huge debts, local news site jxnews.com.cn reported.

The report said that the demonstration's organizer, Min Saifeng, is a stockholder in Ganpo, which the court ruled had to pay debts of around 160 million yuan ($24 million). When the company failed to fulfill its promises within the allotted time, the court decided in April 2015 to auction off the company's land holdings to pay the debts.

Min's phone was turned off when the Global Times attempted to contact her on Tuesday. 

Local police said Min hired over 10 migrant workers for 180 yuan each to block the court's gate, disrupting its normal operations. Two of those involved, including Min, have been detained for 10 days in accordance with the law, according to jxnews.com.cn.

Min told news site ifeng.com on Monday that the demonstrators were not migrant workers and that some of them were her friends and relatives. She said they came to the court to report Guo, accusing the judge of contriving to bring the lawsuit against Ganpo and of making covert deals related to the auction of the company's land. 

Copying the CPC Constitution has become a hot topic in China, after social media posts about newlyweds employed by the Nanchang Railway Bureau who transcribed the Party Constitution on their wedding night shed light on a nationwide Party education campaign.

Global Times

Photo: ifeng.com