Should young Hongkongers join the PLA? Maybe it’s not a good idea at all
Yonden Lhatoo says a new push to allow the city’s youth to serve in China’s military is not without merit but is unlikely to get far because of enduring political sensitivities and suspicions in a polarised society
All revved up and no place to go, young man? Join the People’s Liberation Army.
The city’s largest pro-establishment party wants young Hongkongers to serve in the PLA as part of efforts to encourage people here to seize national opportunities on offer.
The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) plans to raise the proposal next month during the country’s top two annual political meetings in Beijing.
The DAB floated the same idea three years ago, as did a senior PLA officer involved in the drafting of Hong Kong’s garrison law, who suggested universities and secondary schools in the city could offer classes on national defence and military training.
I can already see eyes rolling or glazing over at the prospect, but joining the PLA is a genuinely attractive career path for millions across the border. Although military service is mandatory by mainland law, conscription exists in name only because there is no shortage of recruits.
China has been building an educated army for more than a decade now, and university students and graduates are regular recruits, given the many incentives during and after service if they postpone their education to sign up.
Promotion prospects, student loan write-offs, tuition subsidies, tax reductions when starting a business, preferential treatment in joining the civil service and state-owned enterprises – you get the drift.
Many youngsters would find a military career more rewarding than flipping burgers at McDonald’s or selling pay TV subscriptions on the street
Of course, Hong Kong is a whole different animal, as we all well know. But even here, there is genuine interest in the PLA, as seen whenever the local garrison opens its gates to the public.
I’ll wager many youngsters here, given the chance, would find a military career more rewarding than flipping burgers at McDonald’s or selling pay TV subscriptions on the street.
Maybe it’s just as well that the DAB’s proposal, genuinely well-meaning or sycophantic brownie point scoring, is unlikely to get more than lip service because of enduring political sensitivities.
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Imagine if all those angry young bucks had undergone military training and were weapons experts, courtesy of the PLA. They would be doing more than just digging up bricks from the pavement to chuck at police officers. Maybe not a good idea after all.
“Good metal doesn’t make nails; good men don’t make soldiers,” the old Chinese saying goes. The question for Hong Kong is: what are our young compatriots really made of?
Yonden Lhatoo is the chief news editor at the Post.
