Chinese military stresses Communist Party control in face of 'liberal' enemies
Some recruits do not understand forces serve political leadership, military mouthpiece warns
The PLA said yesterday it must be governed by the Communist Party and not succumb to "liberal" voices who wish to challenge the party's control.
President Xi Jinping has repeatedly reminded the military to be loyal to the party, as he steps up efforts to modernise forces projecting power across the disputed waters of the East and South China Seas, though the People's Liberation Army has not fought a war in decades.
In a front-page editorial, the official said "enemy forces" were trying to infiltrate the ranks to push for the "de-politicisation" of the military and remove the party's leadership role.
With a changing society, younger officers were now entering the forces without a proper understanding of the party's role and its discipline requirements, the newspaper added.
"When political discipline is firm, then the ruling party prospers; when political discipline is weak, the ruling party falls … Liberalism has always been the great enemy of strictly maintaining political discipline," said the paper, citing a 1937 warning by the founder of modern China, Mao Zedong .
"Still today, political liberalism floats up from the dregs from time to time," the paper added.
