PLA lures talent with incentives
- Source: Global Times
- [09:01 November 02 2009]
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Two young men consult during a military recruitment in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region Nov. 1, 2008. China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) started the yearly and nationwide winter recruitment on Saturday. (Xinhua/Chogo)
By Guo Qiang
The nation's military is reaching out for more degree holders in an effort to furnish the army with more capable soldiers, as the People's Liberation Army (PLA) started its regular winter recruitment campaign Monday.
The Conscription Office of the Ministry of Defense said fresh recruits are mainly graduates from universities, colleges, vocational schools and high schools with preferences given to graduates with higher education – a requirement that is meant to further furnish China's military with more capable soldiers.
The military has also started to recruit young women from the public as a whole.
Xu Qiliang, the current commander of the PLA Air Force, stated during an interview with the China News Agency Monday that the Air Force is in need of young people as its backup force.
Ding Zhengquan, an official with the Beijing Conscription Office, told the Global Times that those who sign up for military service have to be prepared for a physical examination before a review of their political background. Physical examinations will start next Tuesday in Beijing.
"But applications are still open until the end of the physical examination program nationwide," he said.
In an effort to woo more well-educated recruits, female graduates are entitled to preferential standards for the first time. For instance, the maximum age for female recruits with four-year college education or higher has been lifted from 22 to 24, while the limit for female graduates with a three-year education was raised from 21 to 23.
A number of Chinese provinces and cities have witnessed an increasing number of Army recruits, especially among women.
Jiangsu Province had received almost 9,000 female applicants through Monday, 90 percent of whom are undergraduates and graduate students, the Nanjing-based Xinhua Daily reported.
The country's military promotion and education, as well as the grand National Day military parade, also provided young students with an incentive.
