Young Chinese ‘too fat and frustrated to join the army’

The Times ^ | August 23 2017 | Didi Tang

[TigerLikesRooster]

Young Chinese ‘too fat and frustrated to join the army’

An increasing number of Chinese men and women who try to join the biggest military in the world are failing fitness tests because they are fat and masturbate too much, state media proclaimed yesterday.

The high attrition rates for potential army recruits has prompted concerns that there may soon be too few fit youths to fill the ranks.

Chinese authorities believe that poor diet is a big part of the problem but also that frequent masturbation by young men leads to larger-than-normal testicular veins, and a resultant fall in fitness.

The excessive use of smartphones, and drinking water with too high a mineral content are other factors, according to a report published in the People’s Liberation Army Daily, the state-run military newspaper.

[a fool in paradise]

Can I serve under General Tso? He makes damn good chicken.

[TigerLikesRooster]

From China's military news site:

Military says quality of recruits is 'guaranteed'

The Chinese military has dismissed speculation that unhealthy applicants are entering the armed forces, and has reassured the public about the quality of new recruits.

"Recruitment is the foundation of national defense, and high-quality recruits are crucial to the military's combat capability," the Defense Ministry's recruitment office said in an online statement on Tuesday.

The military eliminates unfit applicants who fail rigorous physical examinations, it said, adding that recent public worries about the quality of recruits were the result of people mistakenly assuming that an increase in the number of rejected applicants meant there were more subpar recruits.

In 2014, the United States military turned down 80 percent of all applicants, but that led to the highest quality of military recruits in 40 years, as the Obama administration moved to downsize the US Army, according to the Pentagon.

"China's recruitment process has strict rules and procedures," the Defense Ministry office said. "The quality of our recruits is guaranteed, and the headwaters of our military will flow long and strong."

On Saturday, the People's Liberation Army Daily said on its WeChat account that around 56 percent of those who applied to join the army in an unnamed city this year failed to meet physical standards.

The post spurred heated online discussion about the quality of young recruits, as well as how unhealthy diets and the overuse of smartphones may have undermined their health and eyesight.

"A war zone does not need weak 'pretty boys'. Only strong young men can shoulder the responsibility of protecting the nation," said netizen Xu Xuewei in an online comment.

The PLA is undergoing a series of reforms to become a world-class fighting force. However, it is having a hard time finding recruits, as couples are having fewer children.

As a result, in 2014, the Chinese military relaxed its physical standards so that recruiters could attract more young people with higher education backgrounds.

The height requirement for males was lowered from 162 centimeters to 160 cm, and for female candidates from 160 cm to 158 cm.

It also reduced eyesight requirements. Nearly 70 percent of high school and university students in China are nearsighted, according to Peking University.

"While the physical criteria may have been lowered slightly, the educational requirement has been increased significantly," said Major General Zhu Chenghu, a professor at PLA National Defense University.

"The general quality of young recruits has actually improved over the years, with many college students holding degrees in engineering and international relations," he said. "A strong body is still very important for a soldier, but education is now more valuable than ever in building a strong, modern military."

[bgill]

Not to mention their hairy palms.

[a fool in paradise]

Translation, we will starve them until they can wear the uniforms we’ve got.

Work them harder. 1-2-3-4

[a fool in paradise]

“The excessive use of... drinking water with too high a mineral content are other factors”

Should’ve gotten the low fat diet water.

[jz638]

Kind of a stupid premise, but there may be a nugget of wisdom in there.

Chinese ‘traditional’ medicine has a lot of supposed treatments for male virility problems. These treatments include ingredients that encourage poaching, the ivory trade, shark finning, etc...

Chinese population control efforts combined with the traditions of preferring boy babies and use of abortions for sex selection means there is a meaningful deficit of females among the general population, probably more so in certain segments.

Allowing western culture to seep into Chinese culture, what with our sexy women and delicious snacks, was probably their greatest mistake.

In short China, stop with the powdered rhinoceros penis witchcraft, stop killing baby girls, stay away from our movie industry and put down the fritos and maybe you too can become a world superpower.

[Little Ray]

Hard Times make Strong Men.
Strong Men make Good Times.
Good Times make Weak Men.
Weak Men make Hard Times.

There is something fundamentally unworkable about government.

I think all Good Ideas, like Capitalism and Liberty, do is extend the length of Good Times, making the onset of Hard Times seem even worse.

[ETL]

[snoringbear]

“In 2014, the United States military turned down 80 percent of all applicants, but that led to the highest quality of military recruits in 40 years.”

The above statistic caught my attention. Do not realize rejection rate is that high. So, seems to me that it’s hard for the transgender crowd to justify their claim that they’re being singled out. Appears a bunch of people are being “singled out” sarc/....

[fieldmarshaldj]

"An increasing number of Chinese men and women who try to join the biggest military in the world are failing fitness tests because they ... masturbate too much"

That's a new one for me. You'd think that would burn off some weight. Besides, how would they know ? Does one admit to being a chronic bishop flogger ?

[ex91B10]

"A war zone does not need weak 'pretty boys'. Only strong young men can shoulder the responsibility of protecting the nation,"...

Well at least the Chinese understand this.

[wally_bert]

His MSG could be quite the headache for sensitive types.

[Junk Silver]

I wonder if there is an element of disinformation in all these reports.

I spent two months in China last year and I didn’t see any fat kids. These people are obsessed with fitness, there are outdoor exercise classes everywhere and everyone seems to be jogging or doing calisthenics.

I did notice that in the big prosperous cities Chinese kids seem to spend all their time staring at their smart-phones and posting on Wren-wren (literally “people-people” - the Chinese Facebook). I can’t speak to the issue of enlarged testicular veins!

[wafflehouse]

frequent masturbation by young men leads to larger-than-normal testicular veins

havent heard that one before

[Songcraft]

Many of them have been found to be suffering from various other physical ailments as well, such as...