(TibetanReview.net, Nov29’20) – To someone who does not have to wield a gun and launch an attack to capture new territories from those who are known to be bent on resisting with all their might, it is easy to tell those being send to fight not to be afraid to die and this exactly what Chinese President Xi Jinping has told the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the armed wing of the Communist Party of China serving as the nation’s armed forces.
Do “not fear hardship” and do “not fear death”, the express.co.uk Nov 28 cited Xi as having said when he addressed China’s Central Military Commission in Beijing.
He has called on the PLA to “enhance the sense of hardship, strengthen the mission responsibility, and accelerate the transformation and upgrading of military training”.
The report noted that the sabre-rattling speech had come as China faced soaring tensions with the US, Taiwan, South China Sea rivals and India on its volatile Himalayan border.
The report cited Beijing-based military expert Zhou Chenming as saying Xi’s address was designed to push PLA commanders to step up combat training and familiarise the military forces with new hi-tech weapons and equipment including tanks, aircraft and warships.
Zhou has told the scmp.com Nov 26, “China is facing a number of challenges both at home and overseas – for example, the situation in the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea, the border with India.
“These situations have been changing in recent years, and China’s top commanders need to come up with forward-looking, strategic training plans so the troops are combat-ready.”
