The city of Nanchang in Jiangxi Province, China, marked the 96th anniversary of the August 1 Nanchang Uprising and the founding of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) with a flag-raising ceremony at Bayi Square. The ceremony commemorates the historic event when the Communist Party of China initiated its first military resistance against the Kuomintang counterrevolutionaries on August 1, 1927, leading to the establishment of the PLA.
With the morning sun shining, the roads leading to Bayi Square were filled with people holding China’s national flags, eagerly awaiting the flag-raising ceremony. The event invoked a warm and patriotic atmosphere across the country, with related topics trending on social media platforms like Sina Weibo. Netizens expressed their support and love for the Chinese soldiers, affectionately calling them the “loveliest people” in China.
Amid the ongoing impact of Typhoon Doksuri, which is the fifth typhoon of the year, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region has experienced heavy rainfall and floods. In response, the PLA soldiers and police officers immediately engaged in flood prevention and relief efforts, foregoing their holiday to assist in rescue operations.
In Beijing, a red warning for heavy rainfall was issued, prompting the armed police unit to deploy over 2,000 officers and soldiers with rescue equipment to the disaster front line. They worked tirelessly to evacuate and transfer trapped individuals, successfully rescuing more than 100 people.
Chinese military expert and TV commentator Song Zhongping emphasized that the PLA has a dual mission. Alongside its military operations and defense against aggression, it is also actively involved in non-combat activities such as counter-terrorism, anti-piracy, humanitarian relief, and disaster prevention and mitigation. The PLA’s dedication to both military and civilian tasks reflects its commitment to safeguarding the nation and its people.
PLA service personnel have no holidays, including on August 1, as they have to take part in flood fighting, rescue disaster relief, and carry out a variety of exercises, Song said, noting that there are also many troops engaged in the defense of the country’s borders.
“All this is to provide a peaceful and harmonious environment. So our military, our service members as well as our veterans are some of the loveliest people of our time,” Song said.
On Tuesday, an army corps of the Xinjiang military command organized a ceremony to raise the national flag, and awarded commemorative medals to some officers and soldiers in recognition of their contribution to safeguarding the prosperity of the motherland, according to state-owned media outlet CCTV.
Yang Chuan, a soldier from the corps who was awarded the commemorative medal, said that he would continue to train his abilities against the enemy, and contribute all his strength to protecting the northwestern border of the motherland.
“Protecting the country is the duty of every citizen. China is now facing an unstable external environment and the world is not at peace,” Song stressed.
Over the years, the PLA’s military capability building has advanced by leaps and bounds. It is because the world is not peaceful that it is even more necessary to strengthen its preparations for conflict, according to military experts.
“Only by being prepared for war can war be avoided, and peace can be won and consolidated through the dissolution of war. So the PLA still needs to work hard to make itself stronger,” Song pointed out.
“I’m looking forward to the middle of the century when the PLA will become a powerful military to better safeguard China’s sovereignty, security and development interests and to better safeguard regional and world peace,” Song noted.