Chinese military banned from blogging
No online romance either for PLA personnel
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China has issued an edict banning its 2.3 million military personnel from blogging or creating homepages or websites, AP reports.
The new rules came into force on 15 June, as part of a People's Liberation Army Internal Affairs Regulation.
Wan Long, a PLA political commissar, told Xinhua news agency: "Soldiers cannot open blogs on the internet no matter [whether] he or she does it in the capacity of a soldier or not."
Wan reportedly expressed concerns about "confidentiality", adding: "The internet is complicated and we should guard against online traps."
An anonymous retired senior colonel told unnamed Hong Kong media: "The divulgence of military secrets by PLA soldiers through the internet has been very serious over the past few years, mostly focused on information about weapons."
Also off the menu for PLA members are "seeking partners, hunting for jobs or making friends online".
Xinhua explains: "A 32-year-old single soldier in Tibet received letters from more than 30 girls after his family posted a profile of him online to help him find a girlfriend. At the time, he was unaware of the hidden risks posed by the internet."
Quite how the poor chap potentially threatened state security is not noted, but Yang Jigui, commander of the Xigaze military sub-command in Tibet, said: "People with ulterior motives may make use of the soldiers' personal information and pose a threat to the safety of the army."
Moved by the plight of far-flung soldiers with "few opportunities to make contact with the outside world", the sub-command "held a meeting to discuss the problem of unmarried soldiers and requested some of its units to help them find partners via local civil affairs departments and the women's federation". ®
COMMENTS
Corporal Cheng Tweets:
Corporal Cheng Tweets: All v excited, 16, 39 and 40 Group Armies ready to help our N Korean buddies against imperialists. Yankees won't know what hit them.
Re: ... but common in the military
Fair enough, but then why censor a personal blog which is non-military in nature? That seems excessive. It is as though the soldiers have access to (non-military) ideas which the chinese government wants to keep secret from the public and each other.
It's astonishing to me that there are modern cultures in which people are not allowed to think for oneself. I just don't get it.
I see a solution
""A 32-year-old single soldier in Tibet received letters from more than 30 girls after his family posted a profile of him online to help him find a girlfriend."
It looks like his family did not give his e-mail address online, but invited letters from interested woman. They would most likely get much more than 30 replies so they must have filtered the responses and only sent the ones they thought were suitable.
This arrangement could work well as a filtering system to protect the soldiers. So, protect yourself from internet harm by always using a chinese letter.
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