PLA recruitment eyes science, tech majors

Youngsters show soaring enthusiasm amid tensions across Taiwan Straits

The Chinese military’s recruitment for the second half of this year is progressing in full swing across the country, with more highly educated students being attracted to the army due to the growing focus of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on the development of intelligence, information and skills.

The recruitment, which coincided with the recent crisis over the Taiwan Straits following the reckless visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the island, also became a trend on China’s Twitter-like Sina Weibo on Monday, witnessing growing enthusiasm among Chinese netizens who vowed to contribute to the national reunification.

The favorable conditions for this year’s recruitment include relaxing the age limit for postgraduate students from 24 to 26 years old, and priority would be given to college students in science and technology schools and to those with skills that are necessary for fighting in a war, media reported.

People with skills that are necessary for fighting in a war include those talented in the internet, communication and engineering, and surveying and drone operation, observers said, noting that the requirements aim to enhance the PLA soldiers’ capacity in real combat.

These favorable conditions this year come along with the Chinese army’s accelerated integrated development of mechanization, informatization and intelligentization, Chinese military expert Song Zhongping told the Global Times.

The relaxation of the age restrictions would help to expand the scope of people available for the PLA as many postgraduate students in China had reached 24 years old when they left school, Song noted.

As the PLA is developing toward a skill-intensive army, what we need the most is technical experts who can quickly learn to operate advanced and hi-tech weapons in the army, Song said, noting that enrollment of more technical staff would help to generate and sustain the combat effectiveness of the army.

This year’s favorable conditions have attracted more highly educated applicants.

Media reports said that so far, more than 110,000 people applied to join the army in the second half of this year in East China’s Zhejiang Province, among whom 50,000 were college students and another 27,000 were graduates.

Chinese netizens also expressed their enthusiasm to join the army on Monday. Related hashtags on Sina Weibo had been viewed about nearly 100 million times as of Monday afternoon.

Yu Qi, an applicant from Zhejiang Province, said that the recent situation in the Taiwan Straits affects the heart of every Chinese national, and makes us understand that it requires strength to safeguard national security.

“I am willing to serve the country and let the name of “PLA soldier” be the honor of my life,” Yu said.