Bayi Commentary | Pledge Youth to the Nation, Take Up Arms with Passion
"Serve the nation by joining the military, wear the uniform, and have no regrets in this life! I want to sit the entrance examination for the National University of Defense Technology!" In Kashgar, Xinjiang, a female student in her final year of high school spoke these words at a college entrance examination send-off ceremony, her gaze resolute and every syllable ringing with conviction.
Recently, the Ministry of National Defense spokesperson, in response to a reporter's question, announced that enrollment of ordinary senior high school graduates by military academies for 2026 has been fully launched, with 22 military academies planning to enroll 17,500 students. The military academy—that crucible bearing glory and dreams—is forging at white heat the pillars of the new-era cause of building a strong military.
A century of brilliance: undertakings flourish through talent. From the moment the Chinese Communist Party was founded, it attached the highest importance to military education. "On the banks of the Yellow River, gathered are outstanding sons and daughters of the Chinese nation; the responsibility for the liberation of humanity and the salvation of the country rests entirely on our own shoulders." The anthem of the Anti-Japanese Military and Political College (抗日军政大学) crosses the years of war and fire and still stirs the heart. Comrade Mao Zedong once lavished praise on the Anti-Japanese Military and Political College as "the most revolutionary, the most progressive, and the most capable of fighting for national liberation and social liberation." Amid the smoke and fire of war, large numbers of aspiring young people came in admiration, took up the pen and then the sword, and with blood, passion, and wisdom "urgently rescued the people from fire and flood, and steadied the great edifice on the verge of collapse," inscribing their radiant youth on the history of struggle for national independence. It was precisely this great crucible that, in fewer than ten years of operation, cultivated more than 100,000 military and political cadres of both virtue and ability for the revolution.
The tides of the era surge forward; the horizon for building a strong military is vast. Times change, but the truth that "the way to build a strong military lies in obtaining the right people (强军之道，要在得人)" does not change. Chairman Xi has pointed out: "Advancing the cause of building a strong military requires successive waves of aspiring young people to carry on the struggle." This generation of young people has grown up in an era of leapfrog development in China's national defense capabilities—from the sharp cry of the J-20 piercing the sky, to the majestic form of the Fujian cutting through the waves, to the deterrent power of the "Dongfeng Express" with its "strike range covering the entire globe"—every brilliant appearance of the People's Army is a summons to the mission of young people. Data show that in recent years the number of applicants to military academies has set new records repeatedly, with tens of thousands of students responding through action to what building a strong military requires. Liu Yang, China's first female astronaut to enter space, said that the military academy "made me, without my realizing it, more fearless in the face of challenges, and more possessed of a sense of responsibility and duty." Young students transform their love and their lack of regret into simple and plain vows: "Here, that patriotic heart of yours will be tempered until it is indestructible"; "Since you've come, transform your youth into 'a round already chambered'"…
"Talent has always required cultivation; let it grow tall and do battle with the wind and rain." Choosing a military academy has never meant choosing a broad and easy road—it is a journey full of hardship that requires conviction to sustain. Compared with civilian universities, study and life at a military academy will involve stricter constraints and more challenges to endure. Tactical training under a blazing sun, long-distance marches in heavy rain, crawling through mud and water… To become a qualified soldier, one must learn to hold on when under strain and to stand firm when bearing a heavy load. The sweat shed and the injuries sustained are all proof of growth; the tempering of willpower, creativity, thinking ability, and professional competence, and the cultivation of the character traits of loyalty, tenacity, and toughness, will bring a strength that serves one for a lifetime. As Comrade Nie Rongzhen said, "That is the greatest help to your success."
One uniform, a lifetime of burning intensity. "Listen—the bugle of the new march sounds, the goal of a strong military beckons ahead. For the nation to be strong, we must bear the responsibility; the battle flag is inscribed with the glory of iron and blood…" The rousing melody of "Song of the Strong Military (强军战歌)" calls to those who in the new era take up the pen and then the sword. When young students, at a critical juncture (紧要处) in their lives, make the resolute choice of a military academy, they are choosing to "pledge youth to the nation and take up arms with passion (青春许国，热血从戎)"—choosing to "take up shield and spear to defend the altars of state (执干戈以卫社稷)." Let youth be tempered into steel within the camouflage formation; let dreams shine brilliantly within the great cause of building a strong military—this vow of "I am part of the strong military (强军有我)," resounding to the skies, will surely converge into a mighty force sustaining the rejuvenation of the nation!