From November 11 to 15, the Jinan Military Area Command conducted a public recruitment exercise to enlist 200 women cadets, signifying a major break in the norm of "hush-hush" enlistments.

The enlistment exercise was carried out in Henan and Shandong provinces, two of the provinces under the command of the Jinan Military Area Command.

Generally, a woman with dreams and ideals of serving her country in military service would find that enlisting is not as straightforward as she might imagine. Much would depend on her connections, or "guan xi", with the armed forces. More often than not, women are enlisted "by invitation only."

Further, compared with the enlistment procedures for men, the procedure is a somewhat less clear for women. Few people understand how it works.

A key reason why the Jinan Military Area Command decided on the public recruitment drive is that China's military forces are expanding, particularly in the technologies aspect.

Positions requiring highly skilled and talented personnel have opened up. Part of the development that the country is witnessing also includes a move away from traditional roles for women in the armed forces, such as communications and nursing, to more "frontline" roles in engineering, technology, and special military operations.

Liu Xinmin, vice governor of Henan Province and director of the Henan Special Work Team on Recruitment, expressed that the public recruitment exercise reflects enhanced transparency of the Chinese government.

He said that enlistment decisions must be based on the principles of justice and fairness.  "There can be no exceptions," Liu stressed.

About 1,600 women in Henan submitted their applications for the chance to serve their country.
 
(China.org.cn by Wang Ke, November 17, 2005)