Many of my Namibian friends from all walks of life are interested in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). One of the questions that I am most frequently asked is in regards to the unique traditions of the PLA. My reply to this is to point out that the PLA has a glorious tradition of serving the people. It is loved and respected by the Chinese people and as a result it has earned the name of the “Most Admirable People”. Since it was founded on 1 August 1927, the PLA has committed to the value of fighting for the people, and through heroic and remarkable feats, it has won the widespread support of the Chinese people.
The American journalist Edgar Snow conducted interviews in Yan’an in the 1930s, he felt that there was a great force in the Chinese army, which he called the oriental magic and he asserted this was the light of rejuvenation. Mr. Snow’s prophecy was right, and the PLA liberated China less than 20 years later.
After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the bond between PLA and the civilian people has become even stronger. In China’s recent war on poverty, members of PLA are at the front line. They have helped thousands of villages all around the country out of poverty, especially in old revolutionary base areas, ethnic minority areas, border areas and the poorest areas. There is a popular Chinese saying that the people’s army loves and in return is also loved by the people.
Currently, the world is facing a multidimensional crisis: economies are still dealing with the health and fiscal effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ukraine Crisis drives commodity prices soaring and sparks fears over energy security and food security globally, terrorist activities in the Sahel region so far haven’t been effectively contained, and UNICEF raised the alarm about climate-induced emergencies across the Horn of Africa.
During the annual Boao Forum, held in April 2022, China’s President Xi Jinping delivered a speech proposing a “Global Security Initiative” (GSI) based on the principle of “indivisible security”. The speech was notable because China has announced its readiness for a new approach to global security with Chinese-characteristics. This is quite a timely initiative in a troubled and divided world.
This initiative calls for strengthening solidarity and pursuing dialogue and inclusiveness over confrontation and exclusion. Recent developments in the global situation show once again that military interventionism and expansionism entail nothing but harm. It’s better to advocate peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom, which are the common values of humanity, than to form small circles or zero-sum games.
The PLA is a key force to this initiative. While the pandemic remains raging throughout the world, the PLA continues its actions. It has actively carried out international anti-pandemic cooperation with armies of other countries by sending medical expert groups, conducting video exchanges of anti-pandemic experience, and providing pandemic prevention vaccines and other materials. The PLA peacekeeping contingents participating in UN missions have demined the conflict zone of Lebanon and Israel despite continuous gunfire, built roads in the mosquito-infested tropical jungle of Sudan, transported materials throughout the complex environment of Liberia, practiced medicine for the people in the disease-ridden Democratic Republic of the Congo, and built infrastructure in South Sudan shortly after it gained its independence. These Chinese “Blue Helmets” have played an important role in supervising ceasefires, stabilizing the situation, protecting civilians, providing security escorts, and supporting security, thereby earning the PLA a world-renowned title for themselves.
A peaceful, stable and prosperous China is an opportunity and a blessing for the world. And a strong PLA is a just force for maintaining world peace and development. No matter how the international situation changes, the PLA will adhere to its international responsibilities and obligations, hold high the banner of win-win cooperation, and practice its commitment with tangible actions by providing more public security goods to the international community and working hand in hand with the armies of other countries. It will continue to make the world a better place, make people’s life better, and build a new chapter in mankind’s history of collectively overcoming trouble and strife.
Col. Gao Peng, Defense Attaché of the Chinese Embassy in Namibia