The Canadian Army Journal

superiority of numbers to overcome any invader. In that regard, a story reported in the
press in the early post Mao period quoted Chairman Mao as saying that if the United
States were to kill 500 million Chinese, China would have another 500 million to put
forward.
The death of Mao in 1976 and Deng Xiaoping’s consolidation of power in 1978
brought major changes to the PLA’s mission, doctrines and training—a transformation
that is likely to go on for at least another decade. If being “red” is not completely out,
being “expert” is definitely on the ascendant. Professionalization has included the
restoration of ranks, regulations for promotions with technical skills as the criterion,
mandatory retirement, elaboration of functionally specialized military career paths,
elaboration of a military education system, and promulgation of a National Defence Law
to codify military responsibilities and processes. All these developments are described
by Professor Lyman Miller of the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey,
California.
The political commissar, an institution unique to communist societies, is the object
of You Ji’s attention, a political scientist. Under the rule of President Jiang Zemin (1989-
2003), the function of the political commissar has evolved considerably. It was originally
intended to enforce control of the party over the gun. Under Jiang, it has evolved in
different directions. Party secretaries are now concurrently political commissars. Their
role is to enhance PLA interests in local affairs, promote popular awareness of national
defence in society, and to address a concern that increasingly, political leaders have little
or no experience in military affairs. Otherwise, commissars interfere minimally in military
affairs—a development in line with the professionalization and depoliticization of the
military.
Thomas Bickford, a senior analyst at the CNA Corporation, focuses on the reform of
the military education system for officers. The shift from ideological indoctrination to
technical expertise has required major changes in the educational infrastructure of the
PLA. Military academies, curricula, teaching methods, new requirements for instructors,
have all had to be reviewed to put officers through a formation that responds to the new
reality. In an unprecedented move, the PLA is now looking at collaboration with civilian
universities in various areas, including engineering. Numbers and size are out; quality
and efficiency are in. The opening of the PLA to new approaches includes sending
officers abroad and offering scholarships to talented students.
Further exploring the cooperation between the civilian and military education
systems, Kristen A. Gunness looks at the various initiatives the PLA has drafted and
implemented to produce highly qualified officers. These initiatives include recruitment
incentives for gifted students, distinct educational programs for the military at civilian
universities, the hiring of technical experts as faculty, and research partnerships between
military academies and civilian universities. As a result of these initiatives, Gunness, also
a senior analyst at the CNA Corporation, reports that as of May 2004 there were 15,000
national defence students enrolled in engineering and information technology (IT)
programs.
Defence expenditures have occupied much of the Western media’s attention in the
last few years and for good reason. While the military share of the national budget
remained fairly low between Mao’s death in 1976 and 1988, the rise in defence
expenditures in the 1990s averaged 15.9%. Much of these additional funds went to
improving salaries for the military. Professor Joseph Fewsmith’s concern, however, is
with the likely future constraints on defence spending. He estimates that the military, like
any other constituency, will have to fight to obtain its share of the national budget.
Fewsmith, a political scientist at Boston University, calculates that this spending is likely
to decrease over time as a share of national expenditures. He attributes this future trend
to another major concern of the government: building a welfare state, including
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