China’s military launches analog dating service to replace digital fun

While soldiers in the U.S. military can text, tweet, and produce all the Lady Gaga spoofs they want, digital life in the People’s Liberation Army is a little bit tougher. And it’s not likely to get any easier soon; on top of all the standard bans imposed by the Great Firewall — which blocks sites ...

PHILIPPE LOPEZ/AFP/Getty Images
PHILIPPE LOPEZ/AFP/Getty Images
PHILIPPE LOPEZ/AFP/Getty Images

While soldiers in the U.S. military can text, tweet, and produce all the Lady Gaga spoofs they want, digital life in the People's Liberation Army is a little bit tougher. And it's not likely to get any easier soon; on top of all the standard bans imposed by the Great Firewall -- which blocks sites like YouTube and Facebook -- China is now applying even stricter Web limitations on its military, forbidding members from using any social media outright. This means soldiers who usually blog, search for jobs, or visit online dating sites in their free time will have nothing to do, right?

While soldiers in the U.S. military can text, tweet, and produce all the Lady Gaga spoofs they want, digital life in the People’s Liberation Army is a little bit tougher. And it’s not likely to get any easier soon; on top of all the standard bans imposed by the Great Firewall — which blocks sites like YouTube and Facebook — China is now applying even stricter Web limitations on its military, forbidding members from using any social media outright. This means soldiers who usually blog, search for jobs, or visit online dating sites in their free time will have nothing to do, right?

Wrong. To compensate for the ban on digital fun, the PLA has launched its very own matchmaking program:

In Hainan, one commander arranged a party for older soldiers and women working at the local China Mobile branch, (no word as to how that party ended), and Yang Jigui’s unit in Tibet has asked for match-up help from local government offices and the CCP’s women’s federation.

This gives a whole new meaning to the term "civil-military relations." 

Brian Fung is an editorial researcher at FP.

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