[October 25, 2024] In recent years, cases of young people in mainland China refusing to serve in the military have been on the rise. A recent example involves a recent graduate in Jiangxi who enlisted but dropped out mid-way and faced harsh punishment, with consequences also extending to his parents. Experts believe the phenomenon of young Chinese refusing military service may be more serious than publicly known.

According to The Beijing News, on October 22, a recent college graduate named Zhang from Nanfeng County, Jiangxi Province, was fined 6,000 yuan (RMB) and placed on a "dishonest" list by the local government for "refusing to fulfill military obligations."

Local government reports indicate that Zhang "voluntarily" enlisted in June this year but submitted multiple requests to leave during pre-service training in September. On September 12, at 10 p.m., he left the pre-service training unit.

As per regulations, Zhang received seven disciplinary actions. His household registration now states "politically unqualified, refused or evaded military service," affecting political background checks for future employment. For the next two years, he will be prohibited from traveling abroad, furthering his studies, or applying for government or public sector positions, and he cannot apply for business licenses or bank loans. His parents are also affected, as they cannot apply for government-subsidized housing within the same period.

Zhang’s withdrawal from military service has not only impacted his employment and life but also means his family will need to provide financial support. Some public opinion views the punishment as overly harsh.

Radio Free Asia reports that Eric Hundman, director of BluePath Labs—a U.S.-based defense research company that studied cases of desertion and military service refusal in China from 2009 to 2018—said that Zhang’s case is quite typical. Hundman noted that the Chinese government imposes such harsh penalties to "prevent future refusals to serve."

Timothy Heath, senior international defense researcher at the RAND Corporation, explained that while many countries, including China and the United States, face reluctance from young people to enlist, the difference lies in the Chinese government’s attempt to "deter" this behavior through severe punishment.

Former PLA Navy lieutenant colonel Yao Cheng commented that since Zhang had not officially joined the military, he remains under local authority. "This is to show others that enlistment is not something you can join and leave at will."

According to research by BluePath Labs and former U.S. Air Force attaché to China Kenneth Allen, the Chinese military currently numbers around 2 million, with 23% officers and civilians, 42% non-commissioned officers, and the remaining 35%, or roughly 700,000, being conscripts who serve for two years. This means that each year, the Chinese military must recruit around 350,000 new soldiers to maintain force levels.

Since 2021, China’s conscription has shifted from once a year to twice yearly, in the spring and fall. In 2023, the State Council and Central Military Commission revised the Conscription Regulations, emphasizing the recruitment of university students to cultivate a technically skilled military force.

The Guardian reports that the revised regulations emphasize recruiting talent with expertise in space and cyber warfare and, for the first time, allow soldiers who have completed two years of service to extend by another two years if they have not been promoted to NCO status, aiming to improve retention.

Although the Chinese government does not publicly release the annual number of new recruits or dropouts, Timothy Heath believes that if quotas are not met, the military will turn to local governments to enforce mandatory recruitment. The use of near-coercive methods may indicate that the issue of military service refusal in China is more serious than officially disclosed.

Reports of young people refusing to serve and facing penalties have increased across China in recent years, with cases spreading from economically developed areas to central and western regions. On February 22, 2021, a notice from Ruzhou City, Henan Province, detailed the punishment of a young man born after 2000 for refusing military service, fining him 36,000 yuan in addition to a series of penalties.

As early as 2015, Global Times, a Chinese state media outlet, acknowledged the "difficulty of recruitment" issue in a report, noting that in peacetime, the social status and recognition of soldiers has declined.

Editor: Lin Congwen