(TibetanReview.net, Oct11’25) – China has punished a young graduate for the rest of his life for failing to adapt to being posted in Tibet after he joined the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) earlier this year, reported stratnewsglobal.com Oct 11. The report suggested that he was blacklisted for refusing to serve in what is seen in China as a hardship posting.
The incident has become a trending topic on Chinese social media platforms like Weibo, drawing millions of views, the report said.
The soldier, identified as Huang Moumou, a university graduate from Guangzhou, had voluntarily enlisted in Mar 2025. According to his service records, he showed “a negative attitude” after being assigned to Tibet. Despite repeated counselling, Huang could not adapt and was thrown out of the army, the report said.
He was fined the yuan equivalent of around $4,000, stripped of family benefits, and permanently barred from public employment, overseas travel, and higher education. Details of his failed army career will also remain recorded in his household registration and personal credit file, branding him a military defaulter for life, the report said.
More than a simple case of military disobedience, online reactions focused on a deeper issue: fear of being stationed in Tibet, one of the most demanding postings in the Chinese military, the report said.
Tibet, known for its high altitude, freezing winds, and isolation, is seen as one of the toughest postings in the PLA. The state media calls it heroic but many young Chinese recruits differ, the report noted.
While some Weibo posts joked about it, others offered advice on how to avoid going there. Get a tattoo, a verified account was stated to have recommended, adding that “If someone really doesn’t want to serve, they can easily avoid it during the medical check-up, pretend you can’t read the eye chart or show a small tattoo, and you’ll be excused.”
But then, there are always the “Little Pinks” — young, loyal supporters of Chinese Communist Party, who are known to jump into online debates to defend the government and the PLA.
One Little Pink was stated to have written: “Huang Moumou has been expelled and permanently marked for refusing military service, banned from public exams for life. The red line of the law is not a joke, think carefully before making such choices.”
The posts were stated to show that while the nationalists still rule online talk, young people are risking punishment to make known their views on serving in Tibet. But few dared to defend Huang openly, their understated comments indicating a deeper unease with what the military demands from its recruits, the report said.
The wider trend on Weibo were stated to suggest that China’s youth are increasingly reluctant to join the PLA. To many, army life especially in remote regions like Tibet and Xinjiang, feels harsh, distant and too controlling. What older generations saw as an honour now seems more like a hard bargain: long separations, freezing weather, and limited personal freedom.
Young Chinese, raised in an age of digital comfort and city life, often struggle to accept the strict discipline and hardships that define the PLA particularly in places like Tibet, where conditions test both the body and the mind, the report noted.