Even Chinese Army Recruiters Need a PR Campaign.

Even in China, it takes a PR campaign to draw in the best recruits. China has in recent years made vast changes from a bloated and poorly trained infantry force to a sleek, modern and technologically advanced military. This effort to modernize has led to the shedding of the “impoverished farmhands who have traditionally signed on as a way to ensure three solid meals a day” in favor of recruiting college students “in an ambitious modernization program designed to attract smart soldiers who can handle sophisticated equipment and transform the 2.3 million-strong force into a high-tech adversary.” The old recruiting slogan was “Throw Away Your Pen and Join the Army.” and had an obvious anti-intellectual, anti-education slant. The current effort also has a slogan—and a PR campaign. Last month, the government circulated fliers on China’s most prestigious university and college campuses. They showed three soldiers standing in front of the Chinese flag with the directive: “Carry Your Pen to the Army to Become More Accomplished.” Sounds like an eastern take on “Be all you can be!(Quotes from Monday, December 17 Washington Post.) Talk about international pr!