Two army barracks of the Chinese People's Liberation Army in
Tianjin were opened to 105 Beijing-based correspondents from 70
foreign media organizations on Wednesday.
Kong Quan, head of the Information Department of China's Foreign
Ministry, said that this was the first time for many years that
Chinese army barracks allowed in so many foreign journalists.
Officers of the army brigade and air force division based at the
barracks briefed the visitors on military history, systems,
training and participation in civilian projects.
The journalists visited officers dormitories, arsenal, army museum
and hangars. They also dined and chatted with Chinese soldiers and
watched a performance of military skills by the land forces.
Christian Euler, a sound engineer with the Bureau Beijing of ARD
German Television, said that he was impressed by the sharp-shooting
soldiers. He also praised the Chinese army's military march.
Jaime A. FlorCruz, CNN's Beijing Bureau chief, said that this was
the third time he had visited the army. He said that during the 20
years he had worked in China, the brigade had become smaller but
its equipment had improved.
The Chinese army had steadily become more open and this helped
foreign countries better understand it, he said.
As
an example, the army brigade has received 47,754 foreign visitors
in 1,834 groups.
(Xinhua News
Agency July 10, 2002)