I loved how similar this article revealed that china and the United states are in terms of the issue with veterans and providing for them after they have served. Regardless of government structure or system, this is an issue several countries are facing and don’t quite have the answer either.
This article made me want to look deeper into the Chinese military system. Do they operate off a draft? An obligatory service system? Purely voluntary? What is their recruitment like? I wanted to learn more context about the precursory events to this issue, but I was very intrigued by the issue this article discusses specifically.
It aligns very well with my national security thesis in that I am looking at the role social media plays specifically in policy reform. In their attempts, the veterans used a variety of outlets including digital media, but ultimately relied heavily on physical actions and movements. Overall the veterans have had mixed results. Compare this to the work of NGOs who have been very successful in creating environmental reform stemming from their online activity. Why is there a difference? This is the cross road I have reached and am trying to do more research on. Is it because there is the presence of a formal NGO rather than the individual? Or is it the threat online is greater than offline, as articles out of Burma suggest, and so the government attempts to appease them first? Hopefully I can come back with answers to these questions.