Personnel Political Work

Strong Military Forum | Establishing a High Moral Standard for Selecting Talent for the Military

强军论坛丨立起为军选才的道德高线

PLA Daily (解放军报) 20 August 2026

Summary

The Conscription Office of the Ministry of National Defense issued a Code of Professional Ethics for Conscription Personnel (征兵工作人员职业道德准则) ahead of the 2024 second-half conscription cycle, and this commentary in the Strong Military Forum calls on conscription officers to internalize it as a moral standard rather than treat it as a procedural checklist. The article documents a persistent institutional problem: conscription personnel using their gatekeeper role to extend favoritism, which degrades recruit quality and, by the PLA's own framing, directly undermines combat effectiveness. The exemplar of Li Yonggui — an Armed Forces Director in Linshu County, Shandong, who disqualified his own son — is deployed to argue that rule-based constraints alone are insufficient and that integrity must be cultivated internally, a framing that points to recognized enforcement gaps in the conscription system rather than confidence in existing regulations.

Translation

Carefully cross-checking the physical examination data of conscript-age youth, tolerating not the slightest deviation — that is adherence to impartiality. Under a blazing sun, visiting household after household of prospective recruits' families, conducting political reviews with meticulous care — that is the bearing of responsibility. Striking the keyboard to enter the final adjudication conclusion, fingertips steady, without a trace of personal favor — that is reverence for the mission. In this year's second-half conscription work, the broad ranks of conscription personnel earnestly implemented the Code of Professional Ethics for Conscription Personnel (征兵工作人员职业道德准则) (hereinafter "the Code") issued by the Conscription Office of the Ministry of National Defense, established a high moral standard, promoted the professional spirit, and actively carried out the work of selecting talent for the military.

Morality is the "rudder" and "anchor" of one's life; a code is the "soul" and "measure" of a profession. Only by consciously studying, benchmarking against, and complying with the Code — practicing virtue and self-cultivation (崇德修身), exercising conscious self-discipline — and continuously fostering a new atmosphere of integrity in conscription work, can the broad ranks of conscription personnel fulfill the mission and responsibilities they bear.

Engels said: "Every profession has its own morality." Conscription personnel bear the important mission of selecting talent for the military and serving the goal of building a strong military; they are the "gatekeepers" of troop quality. "Those who are dutiful need nothing else but to rectify themselves and investigate things (正己格物)." Putting lofty professional ethics into practice throughout the entire conscription process benefits the military by enabling more outstanding young people to rally under the Party's banner and be channeled into the people's armed forces; for conscription personnel as individuals, it means tempering professional integrity, adhering to professional duty, and doing one's job well.

In recent years, in order to carry out conscription work with precision and efficiency, a series of laws and regulations including the Regulations on Conscription Work (征兵工作条例) have been promulgated. At the same time, we must recognize that laws are established externally while virtue resides internally; rules constrain conduct while integrity constrains the heart. Institutions define the baseline of behavior; morality establishes the high standard of the spirit. Institutions are all executed by people — if the professional ethics of conscription personnel drift and fail, even the best institution will inevitably become distorted in practice. "When virtue is not commensurate with one's position, the disaster will surely be severe (德不称其任，其祸必酷)." It is therefore not difficult to understand why, in surveys, the public hopes that conscription work will truly achieve fairness, impartiality, openness, and equity (公平、公正、公开、公道), and why the public yearns for conscription personnel to possess a sense of public-mindedness (公心) and truly apply "a single standard from start to finish (一把尺子量到底)."

Li Yonggui, the Armed Forces Director (武装部长) of Caozhuang Township, Linshu County, Shandong Province, is regarded by local residents as "the most accurate scale." That year, when Li Yonggui's son participated in the conscription physical examination, he was disqualified because his cubitus valgus slightly exceeded the standard. Having sent soldiers off for many years, yet his own son had not become a soldier. Li Yonggui said: "Of the more than 120 soldiers I have sent through my hands, not one was unqualified. My son is unqualified, and he cannot receive special treatment either!"

Soldiers are born to fight; troops are conscripted for war. Selecting one good soldier is adding one solid brick to the edifice of national defense; selecting one unqualified person buries a hidden mine beneath combat effectiveness. Delivering high-quality "fresh blood" to the cause of building a strong military requires conscription personnel to be loyal to the Party and to keep the overall situation in mind; to perform their duties in accordance with the law and select talent in an open and transparent manner (阳光选才); to keep national defense at heart and uphold standards; to be clean and self-disciplined and not seek personal gain; and to work in solidarity and serve with dedication. This is the most powerful practice of professional ethics by conscription personnel.

Professional ethics are not provisions written on paper but a rule inscribed in the heart. The cultivation of professional ethics is not the work of a single day; the steadfast upholding of professional ethics lies in persisting over the long term (久久为功). The Code is both a code of conduct and a guide for the spirit; both an external constraint and an internal tempering. It is believed that every conscription personnel member will engrave professional ethics into the soul and integrate them into the post — and with an upright and clean bearing (一身清风正气), will safeguard the dream of countless young people to serve the nation through military service, continuously deliver high-quality troops to the people's armed forces, and contribute to consolidating the foundation of the cause of building and strengthening the military (强军兴军).

Original Chinese

面对应征青年的体检数据，细心核对，不容一丝偏差，那是对公正的恪守；烈日炎炎，走访一户户预定新兵家庭，一丝不苟开展政治考核，那是对责任的担当；敲击键盘录入最后的审定结论，指尖沉稳，不掺半点私情，那是对使命的敬畏……今年下半年征兵工作中，广大征兵工作人员认真落实国防部征兵办公室印发的《征兵工作人员职业道德准则》（以下简称《准则》），立起道德高线，弘扬职业精神，积极做好为军选才工作。道德是人生的“舵”与“锚”，准则是职业的“魂”和“尺”。广大征兵工作人员只有自觉学习、对照和遵守《准则》，做到崇德修身、自觉自律，持续营造征兵工作新风正气，才能完成肩负的使命职责。恩格斯说：“每一个行业，都各有各的道德。”征兵工作人员担负着为军选才、服务强军的重要使命，是兵员质量的“守门人”。“尽职者无他，正己格物而已。”把崇高的职业道德落实到征兵工作全过程，对军队而言，有利于把更多优秀青年汇聚到党的旗帜下、输送到人民军队中；对征兵工作人员个人而言，意味着砥砺职业操守，恪守职业本分，干好本职工作。近年来，为精准高效做好征兵工作，《征兵工作条例》等一系列法规制度出台。同时，我们必须认识到，法立于外、德存于内，规矩束行、操守束心。制度划定行为的底线，道德确立精神的高线。制度都是由人来执行的，如果征兵工作人员职业道德偏移失守，再好的制度也难免在实践中变形走样。“德不称其任，其祸必酷。”这也就不难理解，为什么调查问卷中群众期盼征兵工作能真正做到公平、公正、公开、公道，为什么群众渴望征兵工作人员能有一颗公心，真正做到“一把尺子量到底”。山东省临沭县曹庄镇武装部长李永贵，在当地群众眼中是一杆“最准的秤”。那年，李永贵的儿子参加征兵体检时，因肘外翻轻度超标被淘汰。送了多年兵，自己的儿子却没当上兵，李永贵说：“经我手送出120多个兵，没有不合格的。我的儿子不合格，也不能搞特殊！” 军人向战而生，兵员为战而征。选一个好兵，就是为国防大厦添一块坚砖；选一个不合格者，就会为战斗力埋下一颗暗雷。为强军事业输送高质量“新鲜血液”，要求征兵工作人员必须做到对党忠诚、胸怀大局，依法履职、阳光选才，心系国防、坚持标准，廉洁自律、不谋私利，团结协作、热忱服务。这是征兵工作人员对职业道德最有力的践行。职业道德不是写在纸上的条文，而是刻在心中的戒尺。职业道德的养成，非一日之功；职业道德的坚守，贵在久久为功。《准则》既是行为规范，更是精神引领；既是外部约束，更是内在淬炼。相信每一位征兵工作人员，都能把职业道德刻进灵魂、融入岗位，以一身清风正气，守护万千青年的从军报国梦，源源不断为人民军队输送高质量兵员，为筑牢强军兴军事业根基添砖加瓦。