# Youth Recruitment

The Boy and the Battalion: How a Viral Salute Feeds China’s Narrative of National Unity

An 8-year-old boy's viral salute to a military convoy has been transformed into a high-profile civil-military relations event by the 71st Group Army. By inviting the child to a historic barracks, the PLA is reinforcing narratives of generational patriotism and the enduring legacy of revolutionary martyrs.