The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) of China wrote a social media post on Monday warning young officers and soldiers to avoid online dating and gambling.
The post compared online gambling addiction to being “possessed by demons,” while online dating made them “extremely easy” targets for scam artists.
“Distinguish carefully and keep some distance when making friends online. Never lose sight of your principles and make random friends with netizens,” the PLAN warned through its WeChat account.
The Chinese military said its unusually stern warning was necessary because personnel born after 1990 are “becoming the core of the army.”
Another contribution to the online awareness program was made by the Northern Theater Command of the PLA air force, which produced a series of comics illustrating “traps” that military personnel could fall into while using the Internet.
China’s state-run Global Times described a few of the cyberspace perils the various wings of the PLA are worried about:
The article noted that some platforms offer game accelerators and resource-sharing software, which come with built-in “VPN” functions. Many “mirror” servers, although they are “domestic” software, relay information and content from overseas sources, making them highly covert and unpredictable. All personnel should remain vigilant and be aware of the risks associated with “VPN” usage, said the article.
The article also cautioned that unfamiliar push notifications are often a “phishing email,” “trojan app,” or “gambling website,” which may contain hidden dangers and carry viruses. It is easy to fall into traps carefully set by criminals, potentially resulting in the theft of personal information, bank card passwords, verification codes, and more.
Due to the sensitive nature of their roles, military personnel should not reveal their identities online. They should always be vigilant against online behaviors that seek to extract sensitive information from soldiers, the article warned.
The Global Times explained that young military personnel are “motivated by a desire for companionship,” so they might be tempted to “reveal their military identity” when using online dating services – and that could “make them vulnerable to illegal exploitation.”
As for online gambling, it is nominally illegal in most of China, but it still manages to generate about $140 billion a year in revenue from Chinese clients.
The Chinese military’s crusade against risky behavior online appears to have kicked into high gear in June, when dictator Xi Jinping told a military conference that the Chinese Communist Party’s “absolute leadership” of the military could only be maintained by teaching young recruits to “uphold their core values, maintain purity, and strictly adhere to discipline.”
“The gun barrels should always be in the hands of those who are loyal and reliable to the Party, and there must be no place for corrupt elements to hide in the military,” he said.
Xi was apparently worried about flagging Communist loyalty among enlisted personnel, and widespread corruption among the officer corps.
The Economic Times of India – not generally a big fan of the Chinese military, it should be noted – interpreted Xi’s remarks in June as a sign that he fears losing control of the military in a major geopolitical crisis, such as an anti-Communist uprising in China or a battle for control of Taiwan.
“It seems Xi is struggling to keep his brutal grip over the country,” the Economic Times observed. “His dream to make China the biggest superpower is crumbling as China is mired in an economic crisis and Western powers are cornering it, economically and militarily. At the same time, the rot is growing within his regime as Xi tries to purge his military of dissenters and corrupt officials.”