China introduces military training for high school and college students
In a significant development aimed at improving military training for civilians in China, the nation is advancing legislation requiring foundational military training for high school and college students.
As reported by SCMP , the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the upper house of China's parliament, met until September 13 to discuss a draft amendment to the National Defense Education Law. After undergoing its first reading in April, the law is likely to be approved by the end of the year.
This action aligns with Chinese President Xi Jinping's ongoing efforts to promote the inclusion of national security in the educational curriculum. The draft amendment calls for Chinese schools to expand national defense curriculum to improve students' understanding of military service.
A draft published by Chinese state media reads: “National defense education in schools should be combined with teaching military service knowledge to improve students' awareness of military service in accordance with the law and create a good atmosphere in whose military service is considered honorable." The report also mentions that “the draft also improves provisions relating to the initiation of education and training of reservists”.
Under the suggested changes, both local military authorities and national education authorities would be required to supervise marching and shooting exercises in high schools and universities. Local governments would finance the costs of these activities.
The draft calls for education departments under the State Council and relevant elements of the Central Military Commission, China's highest military decision-making body, to collaborate to write student manuals on military training. Universities that do not comply with the law risk being criminally prosecuted.
According to the report, the NPC Standing Committee deemed the adjustments necessary because China needs to strengthen national defense education in light of recent changes on the "domestic and international front."
In September, to raise public awareness about defense education, the Communist Party's publicity department plans to screen documentaries, open military installations to the public and require military training in schools. The Ministry of Education also released a college-level national security textbook in August.
The moves come amid concerns that escalating tensions in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea could escalate into a full-blown military confrontation with the United States.
According to some critics of the Chinese government, Xi's increasing emphasis on military training of civilians is a sign of greater nationalism ahead of a possible invasion of Taiwan.
China is expanding the scope of military training
China has two types of military service: compulsory and voluntary, with the latter set to become the main category starting in 2021.
According to the Military Service Law, all citizens, regardless of race, ethnicity, occupation, place of origin, religion or level of education, are required to serve in the armed forces. The current National Defense Education Law requires high schools and colleges to provide military training to their students.
The National Defense Education Law was first passed in 2001 and updated in 2018, along with other laws, as part of a package of amendments.
The previous iteration of the legislation served primarily as a guideline; however, the suggested amendments state that fundamental military training should be offered to high school students and individuals enrolled in institutions of higher learning throughout their academic career. According to the changes, middle school students are now allowed to undertake military training.
These changes are intended to increase “national defense awareness” throughout society and facilitate the adaptation of the world's second-largest economy to “many new domestic and international changes.” The reports, however, do not describe what it would entail.
The draft amendment follows a series of other national security initiatives by Beijing over the past 12 months. These include the country's Patriotic Education statute, which was amended and took effect in January, a broad public campaign to combat foreign spies and the promulgation of changes to an anti-espionage statute last year.
NPC Chairman Zhao Leji listed the revision of the National Defense Education Law as one of the year's top legislative priorities, aiming to "modernize China's national security system and capability."
Analysts suggest that the increased emphasis on national security awareness could encourage more young Chinese to join the military, potentially intensifying existing nationalist sentiments and fostering animosity or prejudice towards foreign entities.
Zhi Zhenfeng, a researcher at the Institute of Law of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times in April that the country was reviewing the law in response to the changing national security landscape of the new era.
Zhi clarified that while the current legal framework has been instrumental in regulating and ensuring that all citizens receive national defense education, over time it has become apparent that some provisions of the law have not been updated to reflect the change of the circumstances. He noted that it needs to be updated to better adapt to the new regulatory framework, to manage new issues and to offer a national defense education service.
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The article China introduces military training for high school and college students comes from Economic Scenarios .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/la-cina-introduce-la-formazione-militare-per-gli-studenti-delle-scuole-superiori-e-delle-universita/ on Fri, 13 Sep 2024 14:33:24 +0000.