Let Hongkongers serve in China’s People’s Liberation Army, says top military official
Lack of military training hampers young people’s physical fitness, will power, resistance to stress and adaptability, says Senior Colonel Wang Xinjian
Hongkongers should be allowed to serve in China’s People’s Liberation Army, according to a mainland-based think tank member, who says doing so could foster their identification with the country.
Senior Colonel Wang Xinjian, a member of a committee on national security under the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, who joined in the drafting of the garrison law of Hong Kong and Macau, raised the point in an interview with state-backed newspaper Global Times.
He added that universities and secondary schools in the city could open classes on national defence and military training to cultivate a love for the military and the concept of national defence.
Summer military camps and training provided by the Scout Association could also help, he said.
Wang was apparently responding to recent calls from the pro-establishment camp that young people in Hong Kong should be allowed to join the PLA voluntarily.
Under the mainland’s military service law, Chinese male citizens can enlist in the PLA and are obliged to perform military service when required. The law is not applied in Hong Kong.