The annual conscription for the People's Liberation Army will, for the first time, be open to female college students this year, and some of the new recruits will be sent to Tibet, a second dispatch since the country's liberation in 1949, officials said at a PLA recruitment meeting yesterday.
Last year, for the first time Shanghai recruited 38 collegians, all male, from four local universities. The conscription scope this year will be expanded to seven schools - like Fudan and Jiao Tong universities - and include female students, officials said.
"All recruited students can resume their campus life when they complete their military careers. What's more, they will get scholarships from the government," said Hu Zhe of the Shanghai PLA Recruitment Office. Next month, all the new recruits, aged between 18 and 20 years, will undergo physical and political examination. If they qualify, they will be sent to training camps all over the country as late as December 31, Shanghai Garrison officials said.
The garrison didn't say how many will be recruited because "it's a state secret."
"After the first group in 1997, Shanghai will again send recruits to Tibet this year," said Fang Hongxiang of the garrison.
Officials said most of the recruits to Tibet in 1997 had already left the army, but they did very well during their serving period. Among them, 23 won the third-highest honor in the military and 89 were honored as "excellent soldiers."
"In addition, 22 of them gained college diplomas after self-study," Fang added.
(eastday.com October 23, 2002)
