Female Chinese Soldiers (Photo : Pinterest)
Should Chinese women going through soldier training be made to undergo a tough program similar to what male trainees go through? That is the question netizens are asking after photos of the training were published by Xinhua News Agency.
Some of the female trainees, who belong to the 22 that listed in the special operations unit at No. 14 Field Army base in Kunming, Yunnan Province, were photographed chewing mealworms from a can, reported the South China Morning Post. Other images published include reassembling a gun inside a glass box with a snake inside.
But Yang Yuchang, an instructor in the brigade, pointed out, “The women soldiers are more meticulous and responsive and they will do well in sneaking behind enemy lines in accomplishing their missions.”
The 22 were the one who qualified from 55 female applicants after they passed shooting, psychological and physical fitness tests. Since their recruitment, the 22 had gone through training in martial arts, marksmanship and special tactics the past two years.
One of the 22, a female sniper, even won over most of her male competitors when she finished a 10-kilometer race ahead of the men. But despite their toughness, some Chinese netizens think the training is an unnecessary torture on the women trainees. They believe only male soldiers should join the special warfare units because of their physical strength.
At least the Special Forces trainees are shown toughing it up, unlike some members of the female honor guard contingent who marched past the portrait of Chairman Mao at the Tiananmen Square in Beijing for the grand parade that marked the 70th anniversary of World War II. According to Epoch Times, some of the women were actually professional models recruited to add beauty and glamor to the event held on Aug. 22, 2015.
