Wang Hang, 28, joined the People's Liberation Army in 2009, when he was a second-year student at Fudan University in Shanghai. The son of a PLA Air Force officer had dreamed of emulating his father, but his decision to suspend his studies and enlist was met with incomprehension. "People said a young man like me - a triple-A student at high school who played the piano and was studying at one of the top universities - would definitely secure a good job after graduation. They said enlisting was a waste of my time, but I didn't think so," he recalled. "Serving in the army was my childhood dream. I wanted to make it come true." Despite the hardships he endured during two years in the People's Armed Police, Wang learned a lot, especially discipline and order. "At college, I played computer games until late at night and got up at about noon. I've maintained the habit of sleeping early and rising early," he said. He also became more independent: "Like many people born in the 1980s and 1990s, whose parents and grandparents dote on them, I was poor at handling daily life. In the army, you learn to wash clothes, plan how to spend your subsidy and deal with things yourself. That was when I really began growing up." New experiences Cao Xiaodong joined the PLA Navy Marine Corps in 2009 as a student of physical education at Hebei Normal University of Science and Technology. "At the time, I felt being a college student wasn't challenging enough and wanted to try something I had never experienced," he recalled. He didn't inform his family until he had formally enlisted: "They hoped I would finish my studies, but I didn't want to miss the opportunity." Speaking of the hardships he endured during training, Cao said every student soldier tells a similar story: blistered feet after running 5 kilometers in full kit; swimming in the sea and training under a burning sun; and continuing to train even with a twisted ankle. "At the time, it was really hard and painful, but looking back, all the pain and difficulties have faded and only the meaningful things are left - an iron will and comradeship with my brothers in arms," said the 27-year-old, who is now a physical coach in Hebei province. "Former soldiers are not easily defeated by life's difficulties and hardships." woven braceletscustom wristbands no minimumbatman wristbandcheap silicone wristbands
BEIJING -- China has lodged stern representations with the United States over a Taiwan-related bill, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said over the weekend.It was reported that US President Donald Trump on Friday signed the bill that encourages visits between the United States and China's Taiwan at all levels.We firmly oppose the US side signing the Taiwan Travel Act, spokesperson Lu Kang said.As has been pointed out many times by China, the relevant clauses of the act, though not legally binding, severely violate the one-China principle and the three joint communiques between China and the United States, Lu said.The Taiwan Travel Act sends out very wrong signals to pro-independence separatist forces in Taiwan, Lu said, noting that China was strongly opposed to this.We urge the US side to correct its mistake, stop pursuing any official ties with Taiwan or improving its current relations with Taiwan in any substantive way, and handle Taiwan-related issues properly and cautiously so as to avoid causing severe damage to China-US relations and cross-Strait peace and stability, Lu said.Taiwan is a part of China and issues regarding Taiwan are completely internal affairs of China, said Wu Qian, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense.Wu stressed that the bill had interfered in the internal affairs of China and injured the environment for the development of relations between the two countries' militaries.China demands that the US keep its promises, rectify its wrongs, refrain from implementing relevant clauses of the bill and stop seeking any official contacts, military ties or arms sales with Taiwan, so as to avoid doing serious harm to the China-US relationship, the ties between the two countries' militaries and the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, Wu said.
