Walking With the Honor Guards

By YU LINTAO

Walking With the Honor Guards

By YU LINTAO

PLA’s ceremonial detachments take part in Open Day

“I am so honored to be a member ofthis team. My experience here willbe a valuable asset during my wholelife,” the tanned young soldier told thereporters on the training ground in the brightsunshine.

“With this kind of experience, I am not worried about my career. I am full of hope and confdence for the future.” As he continued his story, beads of sweat formed on his ears and face but he stood still and upright, unworried.

The soldier’s name is Deng Tao, a member of the Guards of Honor of the Three Services (GHTS) of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), one of its most popular units. Deng, 21, has served in the army for two and a half years. He says he is proud to be a member of the elite unit and cherishes his life and the training.

Tough training

The training base, located in the western area of the Fourth Ring Road in the Haidian District of Beijing, is the home of the GHTS. On July 21, an open day at the base for media, Chinese and foreign journalists walked the grounds to learn about the lives of the guards.

“The GHTS regiment was set up in March 1952. It is the only unit that performs ceremonial honors on state occasions,” said Liu Shixu, Captain and Chief Commander of the Guards of Honor. “Now, in all there are four battalions and a total number of 700 in the regiment.”

The major task of the GHTS is to perform the duties called for by protocol in welcoming ceremonies for visiting heads of state and senior civilian and military leadership. Whenever there are heads of states visiting China and at other major events, their dashing figures will surely appear to perform ceremonial rituals or march in formation.

“In the 1950s, there were only three to fve instances of protocol duties every year. But since the 1990s, the number has exceeded 130. This means we have one turnout every three days on average,” said Liu.

“GHTS represents our national image. Selection of new recruits is strict. Besides meeting basic requirements, the guards must be taller than 1.8 meters and good physique is required. Honor guards should also possess good academic and political backgrounds,”said the chief commander.

When new soldiers are recruited, they frst take part in a fve-month basic training. When they have completed that, they go on to specific training for performing protocol duties, including individual, in line and formation training.

“To qualify as honor guards, the soldiers must pass three examinations: motion, physi-cal and psychological. The training is very rigorous. For instance, in standing training the guards have to stay absolutely still for at least three hours at a time. Every week, they have three sessions where they have to run five km. Facial expression training is also very important,” Liu said.

The guards have to complete 1,164 hours of training in 132 days each year, including basic training programs such as military theory, tactical coordination, frearms training and physical fitness. They also need to complete at least 800 extra hours of specialized training on military honors.

“Chinese honor guards are capable of carrying out diverse military tasks,” said Liu.

Daily life and study

The training and protocol duties of the GHTS are stressful, but their life in their spare time is colorful and varied. Besides recreation such as billiards and table tennis, all dormitory buildings are equipped with a reading room. The regiment offers correspondence courses for the soldiers and encourages them to take part in examinations for selfeducation.

“All the officers in the regiment have completed tertiary education at one level or another. They have at least an associate degree, and 95 percent of them have bachelor’s degrees,” said Liu. “And about 90 percent of the soldiers acquired academic certificates during the period of enlistment.”

“Men who have been trained here can overcome any kind of diffculties. The correspondence courses are also very helpful for our future careers,” Deng said. He has not yet considered the question of whether or not to continue to serve in the army or fnd some other kind of job after training. Deng said right now he just wants to try his best to qualify as an honor guard.

“Most of the members of the GHTS will have a bright future after enlistment. For example, of the 160 soldiers who retired from military service last year, seven became public servants, 53 are employed by airline companies and most of the others are employed by large and middle-sized enterprises,” Liu said.

Popularity

The strict selection and training have made the GHTS an elite team. Their frequent appearance on the TV in welcoming ceremonies for visiting foreign leaders, National Day parades and also at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, as well as performances at many signifcant occasions where friendly foreign countries are involved, has gained the team high popularity both at home and overseas.

In the autumn of 1986, England’s Queen Elizabeth II visited China. After she viewed the excellent performance of the Chinese GHTS, she was so amazed that she made a special request to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China for a Chinese honor guard to be her bodyguard during her tour.

Xie Lujiang, then an honor guard, was assigned to the mission. At her farewell banquet on a yacht in Shanghai, Xie stood still for more than six hours, and the Queen was deeply touched. She said the Chinese honor guards were highly disciplined and were unparalleled.

To celebrate the 200th anniversary of Venezuela’s independence, the Venezuelan Government invited countries, including China, to attend the military parade creating an international marching formation. To the surprise of all, when Chinese honor guards appeared at the rehearsal, they immediately took the spotlight. Their straight posture and exceptional spirit attracted admiration, and soldiers from other countries stepped forward to take photographs.

WEI YAO

I YAO

In 2010, when a 34-member Chinese honor guard team appeared in the marching formation in central Mexico City in celebration of Mexico’s 200th anniversary, local audiences gave forth thunderous cheers and applause. “China! China!” Spectators shouted eagerly at the parading soldiers as they strode forward in strict formation in valiant posture and synchronized steps before tens of thousands of people.

In the past few years, members of the GHTS have also been invited to Gabon, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mauritania to help train their honor guards.

“Those young men are great. Their way of movement is marvelous,” Ediz Tiyansan, a Beijing-based correspondent for the Turkish Radio and Television Corp., said after seeing the GHTS perform. He said the performance of the guards was the best that he has seen.

“This media day is really a sign that the PLA is becoming more and more open,” said Yang Caiwei of Sanlih E-Television Co. Ltd. from Taiwan.

Journalists also said the PLA should open more military facilities to foreign media to help them deepen their understanding of China’s armed forces and their modernization drive.

“I do hope China’s military will continue to improve its openness and transparency,”said Andrey Evkin, Beijing bureau correspondent for the Itar-Tass News Agency.

“It is indeed a good way to tell the world about China’s military development,”said Defense Ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng.