China to link military promotions with weight, fitness

Photo shows a brigade under the Shenyang Military Region of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) conducting combat drills in the snowfield on Jan 31, 2015.[Photo/81.cn]

BEIJING - A new military policy in China requires all personnel to meet weight limits and links promotions to fitness, a People's Liberation Army newspaper said Friday.

"Physical training should be linked to personnel management," according to "reform and development of military physical training (2015-2020)" guideline, referring to promotions or demotions.

The policy of the Communist Party's Central Military Commission aims to ensure physical fitness in China's armed forces.

Military physical training is "a basic way of enhancing soldiers and officers' physical and mental quality" and helps cultivate combat power, the guideline said.

The military has previously had a fitness requirement, but it was not directly linked to promotions. The announcement did not specify the new body weight requirements or give details of how fitness will relate to promotions.

Anti-corruption officials have said they are seeking to halt the common practice in the military of bribery in exchange for promotions.

Xu Caihou, former deputy chairman of the Central Military Commission, recently was accused of taking "especially huge amounts" of bribes directly or through family members in exchange for granting promotions or other benefits.

Xu is the most senior military figure ensnared in a sweeping crackdown on corruption launched by President Xi Jinping.

Obesity also has become a public concern in China, where economic development has significantly improved living standards.

Educators have lamented deteriorating fitness among the country's current youth, who eat higher-calorie diets, focus on highly competitive academic exams and are more likely to be addicted to sedentary activities such as video games.