open converstion, not flame war

therefore i assume china does not accept non chinese into the army, thats cool. it was a simple question. the British army also will only accept english speakers from the commonwealth. i hoped this was a chat forum where people could exchange ideas and information openly without getting deleted. the previous post in no way reflected anything negative about china, if anything, it's deletion fosters the idea of limited speech and reinforces false nagatives about chinese government style.

i respect others differences and would die to preserve there right to them.

therefore i assume china does not accept non chinese into the army, thats cool. it was a simple question. the British army also will only accept english speakers from the commonwealth. i hoped this was a chat forum where people could exchange ideas and information openly without getting deleted. the previous post in no way reflected anything negative about china, if anything, it's deletion fosters the idea of limited speech and reinforces false nagatives about chinese government style.

i respect others differences and would die to preserve there right to them.

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1) Your thread about the PLA was moved by me to the correct thread. It was not deleted. And it was answered by FuManChu.

http://www.sinodefenceforum.com/showthread.php?t=2053&page=20

2) Your second thread was deleted by me because it was of no value to this forum..

3) Read the forum rules before posting! This is a Chinese military forum.

http://www.sinodefenceforum.com/showthread.php?t=20

Feel free to post what you may within the guidelines of this forum.

Thank you.

bd popeye moderator

mvmccorry said:

therefore i assume china does not accept non chinese into the army, thats cool. it was a simple question. the British army also will only accept english speakers from the commonwealth. i hoped this was a chat forum where people could exchange ideas and information openly without getting deleted. the previous post in no way reflected anything negative about china, if anything, it's deletion fosters the idea of limited speech and reinforces false nagatives about chinese government style.

i respect others differences and would die to preserve there right to them.

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To best of my knowledge, the PRC is pretty strict on who can enlist in the PLA -- you need to be a natural born citizen. For example, prior to 1997 handover, HK residents were allowed to join British Forces. But after the 1997 handover, HK residents are NOT allowed to enlist in the PLA. Also, since the PRC doesn't have a foreign legion like France or Spain, that's not an option either.

Some other countries are more laxed on the requirements. For example, to apply to enlist in the US Army, you only need to be a legal perm. resident (Green card holder), though Federal law prohibits non-citizens from becoming officers.

And I've known quite a few folks (Filipinos, especially) who have gotten their "green" cards (blue, actually), served a hitch as an enlisted person, obtained their citizenship, and become an officer. And, as I recall, there are waivers to that for the medical corps, etc. I've been treated many times by doctors whose accents were so strong you could tell they had barely gotten off the airplane!

Are there "foreigners" that want to join the PLA? With the reputation China has been given to the world, I wouldn't imagine any foreigner wishing to join the PLA.

AssassinsMace said:

Are there "foreigners" that want to join the PLA? With the reputation China has been given to the world, I wouldn't imagine any foreigner wishing to join the PLA.

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Hmm... depends on what kind of reputation you're talking about. If you're talking about one that has a very high probability of going to war then the USA probably has the worst record. Judging from past actions the PLA's actions have been relatively rational, and as a member of the PLA you *probably* wouldn't expect to be deployed so often and easily as a member of the US Armed Forces.

I'm talking about the reputation generally given by Westerners that everything in China is basically bad, i.e. living standard and freedoms. So that makes me wonder why a foreigner, especially from a Western country, would want to join the PLA. It certainly doesn't come from political beliefs or economics. If you wanted to learn some skill, wouldn't you rather learn it from the US where you'd probably get further.

mvmccorry said:

the British army also will only accept english speakers from the commonwealth. .

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Plus the Gurkhas (spelt?)

AssassinsMace said:

I'm talking about the reputation generally given by Westerners that everything in China is basically bad, i.e. living standard and freedoms. So that makes me wonder why a foreigner, especially from a Western country, would want to join the PLA. It certainly doesn't come from political beliefs or economics. If you wanted to learn some skill, wouldn't you rather learn it from the US where you'd probably get further.

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Ah, I see where you're coming from. Well I certainly felt it was odd, to say the least but to each his own.

My understanding is that domestic application to join the PLA are many times over subscribed.

For many young and fit country boys (and girls), joining the army offers a fast track out of Rural Poverty and into the modern world. this is not a situation I would see changing for at least a Generation.