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 ...
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."
More from Foreign Policy

No, the World Is Not Multipolar
The idea of emerging power centers is popular but wrong—and could lead to serious policy mistakes.

America Prepares for a Pacific War With China It Doesn’t Want
Embedded with U.S. forces in the Pacific, I saw the dilemmas of deterrence firsthand.

America Can’t Stop China’s Rise
And it should stop trying.

The Morality of Ukraine’s War Is Very Murky
The ethical calculations are less clear than you might think.