Military training reconsidered after brutal brawl(2)

Compulsory practice

Middle school, high school and college students in China are required to receive military training at least once in their freshman year.

The idea stemmed from an instruction from Chairman Mao Zedong in 1964 when he urged Chinese people to look to the People's Liberation Army (PLA) as an example. When relations between China and the Soviet Union further deteriorated in 1968-69, the idea was reinforced.

But it was not until in the late 1980s that military training became mandatory among high school, middle school and sometimes even primary school students.

"The training was meant to teach students the meaning of discipline. But the practices often show that their behaviors not only fail to improve but worsen due to the effects of reverse psychology [which makes them resist orders]," Sun Dongdong, a professor from Peking University, wrote to the Global Times.

The content of the training was also disputed.

Much time has been spent on drill formations, walking and standing postures as well as bed making, which are often labeled as programs divorced from reality.

"Much of the training is just formalism without significance. Some were designed so students can put out a good performance in front of authority. They have nothing to do with modern national defense education," Tong Zhiwei, a professor from the East China University of Political Science and Law, told the Global Times.

Some families have also been complaining about the waste of money on the purchase of uniforms, which are forever buried inside closets once the training finished.

Different needs

For Du Qiang (pseudonym), an officer from the Chinese People's Armed Police who demanded anonymity, being a military instructor for young students is no easy task.

"Their thoughts are very active and do not like to follow orders. Many value free spirit rather than collectivism, personal achievement than selfless devotion and personal rights than discipline. It's a new generation," Du told the Global Times.

Other PLA officers have expressed similar feelings. "I think the one-child policy has something to do with the current situation," one officer said, adding that students' stamina has worsened over the years and many couldn't finish a 1,200-meter run.

Similar problems also occur among the new recruits. "People today have different needs. They don't feel as responsible to the country or to their group as 30 years ago. It does pose a challenge [to military education]," a different officer surnamed Zhang said.

No matter how disappointing some of the programs are, many still see military training as a necessity. "It is an important part of national defense education that students get to know the military and are encouraged to serve their country," Zhang said.

Others, like Sun from Peking University, believe that military training programs for students should be reformed and modernized.

For Jian, the young college student, in spite of the stern instructors and exhausting training, memories from the training weren't all that bad.

At nights young college students were sometimes ordered to sit around a fire and take turns putting on performances. This was the time when boys could secretly pass notes to girls asking "Be my girlfriend?"