it's not just the United States Japan and European countries struggling to meet their military recruitment goals because China's people's Liberation Army is also failing to fill their ranks cultural economic and demographic factors are all contributing to China's youth being reluctant to join the military the pla is still massive at 2 million Personnel however when we consider the fact that their population is 1.4 billion people the percentage who serve in China is only .5% which is lower than that of the United States and the majority of countries worldwide at the same time China has invested billions
of dollars in defense modernization initiatives so in recent years Beijing has undertaken serious military downsizing measures by cutting nearly 300,000 soldiers from its landbased forces in 2019 okay so wait a second if they're cutting forces why are they having recruitment problems partly because having more modern Weaponry means you need to be able to attract technologically skilled recruits but before we get into that I think most people know what it's like to get into a car accident and if you don't I envy you they're not fun whether it's a fender bender or God forbid an accident
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I joined they were accepting about anyone with a warm pulse how do you think I got in however the pla's recruitment Target is mostly University graduates rather than just physically fit Personnel senior pla officers have admitted that recent recruitment drives fallen short saying quote we need to do a lot more work including changes to the recruitment system and making sure that people can develop after serving that's from Major General Tang Yong xang of the pla's National Defense University and he told this to a correspondent quote salaries can't be too low if the pla is to
attract the outstanding creative young people it needs their need for carrier pilots is by far the most urgent and we can see this is how they've changed their standards a few times in September 2023 the age limit for graduate applications was raised from 24 to 26 the new recruitment flyers in China state that if you want to be a fighterjet pilot you and your family must have a clean political history oof my political history is filthy there go my dreams of becoming a Chinese fighter pilot most people don't know this myself included until I research
this specifically but China's fire Pilots do not have college degrees unlike in other places in the world why do you think I join the Army you think I like carrying 600 lb in my back until very recently 2021 China's Navy Pilots were limited to just high school graduate age 20 or under we're going to dive deeper into understanding China's cultural views on military service but part of all of this has to do with the fact that in China they see military service as a Kind of Blue Collar uneducated job and throughout their history that might
have been true but recent technological upgrades is forcing them to change their perspective on military service have you tried taking off and firing in a missile in the DCS video game you basically need a 4-we certificate program to figure that game out they also have for the first time in their history allowed women pilots to fly their heavier carrier-based fighter jets something that the United States military has done since the 1970s in December the pl official newspaper suggested that the Navy did not have enough fully trained Personnel to operate all of their new warships they
dubbed this phenomena equipment awaiting Talent it's not enough to have the largest Navy in the world you also need the best trained and operated Navy many of China's population is choosing highly paid civilian jobs or something a lot of people aren't talking about right now is that they're choosing to move abroad the UN keeps track of immigration numbers and we can see here that China has a net negative number of migrants what that means is that more people are moving out of the nation than moving in some people refer to it as a brain drain
China's economy has exploded over the past few decades but with more wealth comes a more decadent lifestyle because the modern materialistic lifestyle in China has contributed to the discouragement of young people from joining the pla they've increasingly had these seditary habits that have led to issues such as obesity it's not just us here in the United States eating too many Big Macs take a look at this in 2013 a recruiting office in China discovered that 60% of their college recruits failed physical tests furthermore pla medical experts found that infantry recruits experience stress factures almost twice
as frequently as their American counterparts highlighting the physical challenges faced by recruits when I was in boot camp we had like five guys get stress fractures halfway through and 2 months in they had to get send all the way back to day one restart training stress fractures are hairline fractures of your bones which are caused by repetitive stress or overuse usually get them in your shins and they hurt like a you're more likely to get them if you're overweight and out of shape in the United States military they've tried extra training programs prior to shipping
recruits the basic training to get them physically fit enough to not get injured during initial training the prevalence of obesity in China is also on the rise with over 50% of adults now classified as overweight or obese in China the proportion of obese individuals is growing at an even faster rate than that of the overweight population this obesity problem directly contributes to the high rate of failure in physical tests another challenge the pla faces is a trend among young people to drop out or adopt what they call lie flat or t ping in China that's
this approach what what does it mean to lie flat well it's to seek an easier and more comfortable lifestyle it's kind of like the uh the whole quiet quitting phenomena craze in the United States except in China their communist authoritarian government has a thought police to stop you from lying flat or quiet quitting because the CCP moved to stop the proliferation of this idea online by using the cyberspace administration of China it's an internet regulation that ordered the online platforms to strictly restrict posts on the Tang ping and they had sensors removed the original post
on the matter they even made a discussion group of 10,000 followers in China no longer accessible selling Tang ping or lying flat branded merchandise is also not allowed in China I guess Reddit does censorship too here in the United States but this is a seemingly Petty counterculture idea has been shut down even hardworking and ambitious individuals can be deterred by the perceived austerity of the pla we have to put ourselves in a young pla recruits shoes here and imagine where you might get station it's not like in the US where there's a chance it'll be
sent to Hawaii or Italy possibly your duty station in the pla could be the far west shinjang region that's dangerous or the freezing Border in India or the mountainous region in Tibet I'm sure all those places are beautiful to live in but to be stationed in I'm not sure if that's where an average Chinese INF might want to go furthermore mental health has significantly deteriorated among pla Personnel a survey conducted in 2016 revealed that almost 30% of pla members reported psychological problems nearly double the rate recorded a decade earlier the missile force was particularly affected
as its members often worked in remote underground silos facing unique challenges to the mental well-being Beijing has recently created something that's similar to what we call the veteran affairs or VA here in the un States VA Hospital which helps former pla Soldiers with their benefits 57 million military veterans are reportedly waiting in line for that support now as someone who's dealt with government Run Healthcare Services I can recommend they bring a long good book to read with them while they're waiting for those Services now military life can be harsh the challenging Lifestyles within the military
poses a significant deterrent for Chinese youngsters considering joining the pla one notable aspect is the restrict rtion on travel for all military personnel regardless of rank both within foreign countries and even within regions like Hong Kong and MAA soldiers are only permitted to travel within China while their family members are allowed to travel abroad this policy hinders troops from pursuing a more enjoyable lifestyle because international travel has become increasingly desirable for people in China another constraint is the limited access to Internet as early as 2010 the pla implemented a Prohibition on soldiers creating websites or
blogs citing concerns over confidentiality this means there probably isn't a Bizarro version of me in China talking about your average pla infragment experience on YouTube I thought it was only fair since I already covered four reasons nobody's joining the US military why is nobody joining the pla additionally websites that are deemed sensitive by their authoritarian government are routinely blocked Way Long a political commissar for the pla was quoted by shanju stating quote soldiers cannot open blogs on the internet no matter whether they do it in the capacity of a soldier or not the pla views
the internet as a complex environment where they must guard against potential online traps so there's not going to be anyone in pla all over Tik Tock talking about joining the military furthermore military personnel are prohibited from placing job hunting or personal advertisements in the media these strict regulations indicate the pla soldiers are largely isolated from a fundamental aspect of Modern Life the Internet it's the ult to recruit technically Savvy soldiers when you're offering them limited access to the things smart people love computers and the dang internet there's a theory that part of why recruitment in
the west is struggling is because of perception of political correctness in the armed forces if things are too politically correct in the west I can only imagine how bad it must be for your average pla Battalion where they must be getting constant PowerPoint briefings on the virtues of xiin ping and the Communist Party Ain't nobody want to listen to that the stringent lifestyle regul ations imposed on soldiers pose a significant obstacle for young Chinese individuals considering to join these restrictions limit their freedom and access to basic modern conveniences thereby discouraging many from pursuing the military
this is fascinating and to dive into this next reason I worked closely with a Hong Kong native who researches China for these videos in order to better understand China's cultural perspective from someone who actually lives it and understands it because traditionally Chinese culture does not encourage the res solution of everyday problems through Force instead Chinese parents have historically emphasized the importance of education for their sons an old Chinese saying reflects this sentiment all trades and occupations are inferior and only studying is superior this belief stems from what they call the Imperial examination system the Imperial
examination system was a civil service examination system in Imperial China designed to select candidates for the state bureaucracy the idea of choosing officials based on Merit rather than birth began early in Chinese history but the use of written examination as a selection tool gained prominence during the Sue Dynasty the system reached its peak during the Song Dynasty and endured for almost a millennium until its abolition during the late Chin Dynasty reforms in 1905 elements of the Imperial examination system still exist all the way to today the Civil Service entry process of contemporary People's Republic of
China the exams are aimed to ensure a common knowledge of writing Chinese Classics and literary style among State officials this shared culture helps unify that Empire and the notion of achievement through Merit provided legitimacy to Imperial rule the examination system also tried to play a significant role curbing the power of hereditary aristocracy and Military Authority it led to a rise of this scholar bureaucrat class inside China consequently this system fostered a culture that prioritized academic study there is a long history of warriors in China don't get me wrong most notably you got Sun Su but
we often forget there is a Ying to that Yang there's also an element of anti-military sentiment inside Chinese civilization that can be traced back to confucious confucious is an ancient 5ifth Century BC Chinese philosopher who's generally highly regarded in China his teachings have had a profound impact on Chinese culture ethics and social philosophy I'd compare him kind of to like Socrates is viewed in the west confucious warned against individual who possessed only the strength of soldiers in several passages of the analytics in one dialogue zalu asked does the noble person prize Valor confucious replied the
noble person values righteousness above all if a noble person possesses Valor but lacks righteousness chaos will ensue if a petty person possesses Valor without righteousness they become a bandit here in American culture we currently live in a time that holds a relatively speaking strong reverence for individuals in uniform there have been times in history where that wasn't the case you look at the 1970s with Vietnam veterans being mistreated when they came back but right now troops have a very high public approval rating that we value their sacrifices however in Chinese culture they traditionally revered Scholars
more than soldiers overall there's a greater admiration for individuals who possess both scholarly skills than just military ones this is not disregarded their long tradition of what's called when Shang Kong chain which is someone who excels at both a scholar and Soldier and I'm sure I butchered that way of pronouncing that what all this basically means though is that your average person's point of view in China the military is perceived as somewhat unattractive it's also widely known that the pla is dealing with serious corruption issues Rich families have paid recruiters to avoid conscription for their
families pla Personnel frequently pay for promotions the institution has some cleaning up to do before attaining more respect effect the impact of the one child policy has been huge too the recruitment of the pla is significantly impacted by the infamous one child policy which had far-reaching effects on Chinese Society under the policy many families have only had one child and parents are often reluctant to expose that single child to any potential danger by coddling them I have a brother and sister so if I didn't make it back from Iraq it wasn't that big of a
deal according to an article written in Newsweek by Adel badar this is exactly why the CCP has been released footage of pla soldiers enjoying hot pot and playing video games willy-nilly while stationed in the inhospitable Himalayan environment so their parents would be reassured that they were safe and sound and taken care of while deployed implemented Between 1979 2015 the one child policy was a population control measure aimed at curbing China's population growth by limiting families to a single child but what's often missed here is how that strict policy enforcement meant that people in the military
had had less kids so with military families having fewer children there's a reduced likelihood of encouraging the Next Generation to join the military this is because in the United States and worldwide one of the biggest influences for joining the military is whether you have a family tradition of it can China's recruitment be improved in the future despite the major problems faced in recruiting for the pla they are making efforts to try to fix it will it work though increas in conscription likely won't work for them enlisted troops mostly volunteer but they can be compelled to
join to meet quotas to serve a mandatory 2-year term since the late 1970s though China has used a hybrid system of volunteers and conscripts how about increasing the Patriotic Vibe nationalism inside China has seen an upsurge as tensions around the globe have escalated the pla attempted to bolster their Public Image with propaganda films like wolf Warrior 2 released in 2017 about Chinese elite special forces units it was widely successful there it's it's like the Chinese version of The Expendables movie in the United States except the movie's tagline is literally quote anyone who offends China no
matter how remote must be exterminated wow I really hope wolf Warriors don't watch my videos this movie tells us a little bit about how China wants to be perceived as a global superpower instead of just a domestic Force because in it the soldiers help Africa build their economy and their doctors help cure a deadly disease all while taking knocks at the US personally and this is just me speculating here but I feel China's military is searching for what messaging works best and clicks with people on a wide National level so since 2020 the pla has
implemented new strategies officers and ncos are issued a 40% pay raise and given more home visits China now recruits twice a year instead of just once they use all kinds of data analysis that's employed to identify volunteers with required skills health checks have become more nuanced which they hope will raise standards for certain positions like Special Forces China adjusted their laws with their conscription to focus on adding college students and technologically proficient people interestingly the uncertain economic future of China that you've probably heard about recently May ironically ease some of the difficulties for the pla
China's economy has been weighed down by property Market difficulties for over two years the government plans to strengthen financial support for real estate companies could impose an excessive burden on the financial system mishandling the response could lead to severe consequence quences including increase defaults on bank loans potentially impacting all kinds of banks with the serious downturn in the Chinese economy Chinese youths are confronted with a high unemployment rate in June the urban jobless rate for individuals age 16 to 24 hit a record high of 20% although the government temporarily suspended publishing youth joblessness data without
specifying a timeline the number of candidates taking Chinese civil service exam has reached a record high as graduates seek secure employment however only a select few will secure government positions this year competition has intensified with over 3 million candidates sitting for the exam at the end of November while local civil servants have faced salary Cuts civil servants of the central government and Pla soldiers remain immune to such measures in China a military job can be comparable to Civil Service a soldier who served a minimum of 12 years and attained the rank of serent can apply
for a transfer to other government agencies while maintaining their benefits in rank for young young people in China unable to secure their desired jobs joining the pla can be an appealing Choice as it offers stability and a clear path forward whether or not China's pla is able to recruit enough qualified troops and train them to standard remains to be seen let me know what you think in the comments section below I'm your average infan Chris Cappy follow me at Cappy Army on Instagram slap that like And subscribe button signing off this net time now
