Online gambling as bad as being ‘possessed by a demon’, China warns its navy
Young soldiers in the Chinese navy have been warned that becoming addicted to online gambling is as bad as being “possessed by demons”.
The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLA Navy) also warned its young soldiers to be wary of the risks of online dating, which could make them an “extremely easy” target for criminals.
“Distinguish carefully and keep some distance when making friends online [and] never lose sight of your principles and make random friends with netizens,” the soldiers were warned in an article published on the PLA Navy’s official WeChat.
It comes as Beijing fears that its young soldiers, who make up a growing number of its army’s personnel, are becoming heavily influenced by the internet.
To raise awareness around the issue among young soldiers, a naval aviation unit created comics detailing “online traps” the soldiers could fall into, which include gambling.
In these comics, the soldiers are warned they could be “tricked” and end up “falling into an endless abyss” of debt.
Soldiers were also warned against using games that required “covert and unpredictable” VPNs (virtual private networks), which have become increasingly popular as young internet users in China try to access banned content on the internet.
The increasing use of VPNs has coincided with a huge spike in the popularity of online gambling in China.
Gambling is illegal in most parts of China but online betting sites are thought to generate around one trillion Yuan per year (around £108 billion) in wagers placed by mainland residents, according to Xinhua, a state-owned news outlet.
‘Deep-seated’ internal problems
In addition to the act of gambling itself, soldiers were warned to remain vigilant about the apparent hidden dangers associated with push notifications from “trojan apps” or “gambling websites”.
“It is important for military personnel to cultivate good online social habits, avoid harmful social apps, and be discerning when engaging in online relationships,” the soldiers were told.
The warnings reflect the Chinese government’s effort to “discipline” the PLA, which Chinese President Xi Jinping said faced “deep-seated” internal problems.
The Chinese government has struggled to enforce the ban on gambling in the country’s mainland. In 2018, it banned all online poker applications, meaning app stores had to remove all related applications.
But as more rules were brought in technology companies were able to bypass bans using gambling setups designed to evade detection.
These are increasingly prevalent in rural communities, including in Shanxi and Anhui, according to local media reports.
In February, 19 people were arrested in Zhuji City, in the eastern Zhejiang province, for operating an illegal mobile casino close to a graveyard.
Under Chinese law, those who are caught taking part in gambling can be jailed for up to 15 days and fined 3,000 yuan (£325). Meanwhile, organisers of such illicit outlets can be jailed for up to 10 years.
The focus on gambling in the army comes after Beijing launched a series of drives to root out suspected corruption from within the army, including by removing top leaders.
Li Shangfu, the former Chinese defence minister, was expelled from his party for a “serious violation of party discipline and the law”, which was reported to have been linked to corruption.
Several top leaders from the PLA’s rocket force, which is in charge of China’s nuclear programme, have also been expelled over suspected corruption.
In recent weeks, Mr Xi has carried out close inspections of the rocket force and airborne troops. In an inspection on Oct 9, he urged the rocket force to improve their strategic deterrence and combat capabilities.
He also carried out another inspection of airborne troops on Monday and Tuesday of this week, emphasising the need to strengthen their military training and combat readiness.
China’s military attempts to project an image of power, including launching drills around the democratically governed Taiwan and deploying patrols in the South China Sea.
It recently emerged that Chinese scientists linked to the PLA have been using software developed by Meta, Facebook’s owner, to develop artificial intelligence (AI) for the country’s military.
Researchers from the Academy of Military Sciences, the Chinese army’s research division, have been using the technology giant’s AI product – known as Llama – to fine tune software for military means, academic papers suggested.
Meta’s AI products are open source, which means they are free for anyone to download and experiment with.
While Meta prohibits their use for “military, warfare, nuclear industries or espionage”, there is not much it can do to practically enforce its rules once they are downloaded.
A June research paper seen by the news agency described military scientists using Meta’s Llama to create a chatbot they called ChatBIT. The bot was “optimised for dialogue and question-answering tasks in the military field,” the research said.