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Saturday 5 December 2009
A truly modern army can’t be a tool of the party
Despite its name, the People’s Liberation Army is an army of the Communist Party, not of the nation. This is not only political reality, but something written into the constitution.
Despite its name, the People’s Liberation Army is an army of the Communist Party, not of the nation. This is not only political reality, but something written into the constitution. Even so, the PLA’s popularity and standing among ordinary people has risen steadily in recent years. From a low point after the brutal crackdown in Tiananmen Square in 1989 where it was viewed with disdain, the military can now feel it is rehabilitated in the eyes of the public. A career in the armed forces is no longer seen as undesirable among many young mainland Chinese, including university graduates. So when the PLA announced job openings for 130,000, applicants formed long queues outside army barracks.
To patriotic youngsters, improved PLA pay and conditions are increasingly attractive in a year when some 6.1 million students have graduated from university to compete in a tight job market. The positions cover a wide spectrum, from radar operations to information technology. There are positions for medicine, logistics and communications technology. Most require a university degree. In addition to a regular salary, recruits to some posts may have the costs of their previous university education reimbursed, in whole or part, if they complete the minimum two-year military service.
The large number of openings no doubt reflects Beijing’s concerns about the employment prospects of fresh graduates despite the country’s rapid recovery from the global economic downturn. More significantly, though, the overwhelming response from applicants may herald a sea change not only in the public perception of the PLA, but in the age-old Chinese tradition that prizes scholarship and professional careers over life in the military.
A confluence of factors has brought this about. The army’s heroic, if at times ineffectual, rescue efforts during last year’s Sichuan earthquake were widely appreciated. A commitment by Beijing to make humanitarian relief a primacy mission of the PLA - along with national defence - has bolstered its legitimacy in the eyes of many people. But the single most important factor is probably Beijing’s drive to modernise the army and professionalise its officer corps.
A modern army requires thinking and technically proficient soldiers. Missiles, submarines, spy satellites, nuclear weapons, any future aircraft carriers and even special operations need to be run by soldiers with intelligence and technical knowledge, not peasant fighters. Victory on the battlefields of the 21st century will go to commanders who possess the most real-time information - and are best able to process it - not those willing to spill the most blood. In this, technology is the driving force, and its users are soldiers who must be better educated and professionally trained. But a professional army also means better pay and perks, and good prospects of advancement for those with drive and talent. Housing, health care and education are subsidies that make an army career attractive when the social safety net has broken and is only now slowly being rebuilt.
Yet there is still one barrier to modernisation - the legitimacy of the army. Despite routine shouts by soldiers during parades that they serve the people and the nation, they remain an instrument of the Communist Party. This has been a subject of long-standing debate among academics and even some officers, yet any public discussion of it is quickly suppressed. However, many younger officers increasingly consider themselves at the service of the nation, not only of the state. They are right - the army belongs to the people.
1 comment:
A truly modern army can’t be a tool of the party
Leader
05 December 2009
Despite its name, the People’s Liberation Army is an army of the Communist Party, not of the nation. This is not only political reality, but something written into the constitution. Even so, the PLA’s popularity and standing among ordinary people has risen steadily in recent years. From a low point after the brutal crackdown in Tiananmen Square in 1989 where it was viewed with disdain, the military can now feel it is rehabilitated in the eyes of the public. A career in the armed forces is no longer seen as undesirable among many young mainland Chinese, including university graduates. So when the PLA announced job openings for 130,000, applicants formed long queues outside army barracks.
To patriotic youngsters, improved PLA pay and conditions are increasingly attractive in a year when some 6.1 million students have graduated from university to compete in a tight job market. The positions cover a wide spectrum, from radar operations to information technology. There are positions for medicine, logistics and communications technology. Most require a university degree. In addition to a regular salary, recruits to some posts may have the costs of their previous university education reimbursed, in whole or part, if they complete the minimum two-year military service.
The large number of openings no doubt reflects Beijing’s concerns about the employment prospects of fresh graduates despite the country’s rapid recovery from the global economic downturn. More significantly, though, the overwhelming response from applicants may herald a sea change not only in the public perception of the PLA, but in the age-old Chinese tradition that prizes scholarship and professional careers over life in the military.
A confluence of factors has brought this about. The army’s heroic, if at times ineffectual, rescue efforts during last year’s Sichuan earthquake were widely appreciated. A commitment by Beijing to make humanitarian relief a primacy mission of the PLA - along with national defence - has bolstered its legitimacy in the eyes of many people. But the single most important factor is probably Beijing’s drive to modernise the army and professionalise its officer corps.
A modern army requires thinking and technically proficient soldiers. Missiles, submarines, spy satellites, nuclear weapons, any future aircraft carriers and even special operations need to be run by soldiers with intelligence and technical knowledge, not peasant fighters. Victory on the battlefields of the 21st century will go to commanders who possess the most real-time information - and are best able to process it - not those willing to spill the most blood. In this, technology is the driving force, and its users are soldiers who must be better educated and professionally trained. But a professional army also means better pay and perks, and good prospects of advancement for those with drive and talent. Housing, health care and education are subsidies that make an army career attractive when the social safety net has broken and is only now slowly being rebuilt.
Yet there is still one barrier to modernisation - the legitimacy of the army. Despite routine shouts by soldiers during parades that they serve the people and the nation, they remain an instrument of the Communist Party. This has been a subject of long-standing debate among academics and even some officers, yet any public discussion of it is quickly suppressed. However, many younger officers increasingly consider themselves at the service of the nation, not only of the state. They are right - the army belongs to the people.
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