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SCMP Reporter

President Jiang Zemin has called on the Army to be 'ahead of the nation' in the construction of spiritual civilisation, or Marxist values.

  Military sources said yesterday the improvement of moral standards was a main theme of the speech given by Mr Jiang at the enlarged meeting of the Central Military Commission late last month.

  The sources said Mr Jiang, also commission chairman, underscored the importance of the People's Liberation Army as the 'steel Great Wall' that would protect the Communist Party and socialism.

  They said the President warned against the recent spate of scandals in the PLA involving corruption and soldiers taking part in smuggling and other crimes.

   Mr Jiang reportedly stressed the three virtues - patriotism, socialism and collectivism - and spoke against the 'three evils' - money worship, hedonism and individualism.

  After the meeting, headquarters and regional units of the PLA and the People's Armed Police (PAP) held special sessions to disseminate Mr Jiang's instructions. A number of PLA and PAP platoons have been designated national paragons for building spiritual civilisation.

   The Liberation Army Daily yesterday quoted Chief Political Commissar General Yu Yongbo as calling on all army and paramilitary units to implement Mr Jiang's instructions about defence forces setting the national pace for high moral standards.

  'We must further strengthen the political firmness of the troops,' General Yu said. 'We must more self-consciously remain in a high degree of unison with the party leadership with comrade Jiang Zemin as its core.'   General Yu bestowed on a PAP platoon guarding the Qiantang River in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, the title of 'model unit'.

  'The PAP is an important component of the nation's military forces,' he added. 'It is responsible for the holy task of safeguarding the socialist order and maintaining state security and social stability.'   Diplomatic analysts pointed out yesterday that despite various major purges last year, the PAP had yet to recover from a series of scandals and professional lapses.

  In a commentary yesterday, the Liberation Army Daily warned against the rise of corruption and nepotism involving recruitment into the Communist Party, promotion, and finding jobs for demobilised soldiers.



Jiang in plea on morals to PLA