Super-soldier? West's Smear of PLA an Overhyped Sensation

By Wei Dongxu 

Global Times 

2020/12/13 21:23:44

Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

Some in the West seem to have waged another round of attacks on China. This time they are groundlessly accusing China of producing the so-called super-soldier, a genetically perfected warrior aided by advanced bionic technologies. The Sunday Times newspaper said Saturday that this news, "has caused alarm in the West." 

The article also quoted John Ratcliffe, director of US national intelligence, who wrote in the Wall Street Journal that, "China has even conducted human testing on members of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) in hope of developing soldiers with biologically enhanced capabilities." But they have not provided any evidence. It sounds pretty much like a plot from a Hollywood scientific fiction movie. 

China has made massive achievements to build up a modern and strong national defense force. It is hard for some people in the West, especially in the US, to understand and acknowledge the Chinese military's rapid development. As a response, they spare no efforts to smear the PLA with gossip and rumors.

China and the West differ in recognizing the role of soldiers. In China, we often spot the Chinese troops conducting natural disaster relief in floods or earthquakes. This is part of their spirit of selflessness to serve the people. It has nothing to do with the so-called advanced bionic technologies. According to the Western values, the spirits of making sacrifice and selfless dedication will be difficult to comprehend, and it goes beyond their acknowledgement of soldiers. 

Furthermore, the West is reluctant to see the rise of Chinese military might and an increasing PLA role on the international stage. Hence, in order to discredit China's international image, the West is striving to label China as "evil" by spreading such malicious rumors. Yet such rhetoric and moves will not work. Rational people will not believe such fabricated lies without proper evidence.

US political elites have remained on the same page: They regard China as their strategic rival. Some heads of US intelligence agencies are eager to post some alleged secrets that slander China. To grab global attention and prove their effective work, they tend to deliberately make sensational rhetoric. But such narratives about China are sheer fantasies. 

This is not the first time that some in Washington has hyped up "China's threat" in terms of biosecurity. During the initial stage of COVID-19, certain voices in the US groundlessly said the origin of the novel coronavirus was from a virus laboratory in China's Wuhan. They expressed concerns over the biosecurity at the lab. Washington is judging others by itself. 

Some US army labs did research on deadly viruses and biological weapons, and the US has tested biological weapons - even anthrax vaccines on their own troops during the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War, likely leading to the disabling "Gulf War Syndrome." Whereas Washington has conducted these experiments, it presumes Beijing is doing exactly as it has. 

The US sometimes has resorted to nearly all kinds of means, including unethical ones, to achieve the final victories in wars. For example, during the Vietnam War, the US military sprayed massive amounts of herbicidal chemicals known as Agent Orange that damaged the health of Vietnamese and the US troops who deployed it, causing extreme cancers. 

For this, the US should be the target of international condemnation. Ironically, the US has been slandering China's military development in an attempt to put some evil labels on the country. Through nasty measures that stigmatize China, the US aims to frighten its neighboring countries. Thus, Washington makes excuses to strengthen its military presence in the regions around China in order to make US allies more militarily dependent on it. The ultimate goal of the US with these moves is to better deploy its army and better control its allies.

In the face of groundless accusations made by US or West, the PLA should keep communication with other countries' armies to make itself better understood. In an escort mission in the Gulf of Aden with United Nations peacekeeping forces, the PLA has shown how devoted it is to just causes. The international community, particularly armies of many countries, have spoken highly of the PLA. They realize that a strong PLA is beneficial to contributing to world peace. The truth will tell. 

The author is a Beijing-based military analyst. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn