Millions of Chinese college graduates are being offered another government-paid career opportunity as the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) beckons with the message, "We Want You!"

Graduates of three-year and four-year studies and postgraduate programs were target recruits for the two-year compulsory service, Hou Qishan, an official with recruitment office of Ministry of National Defense, said on Sunday.

It was the largest recruitment drive among college graduates since 1955 when China established the compulsory military service system.

Targeting both male and female graduates aged 18 to 24, the drive had signed up an estimated 120,000 recruits, who would start their military careers at the end of 2009, Hou said.

Graduate recruits could receive up to 6,000 yuan per year as reimbursement for tuition fees to a maximum 24,000 yuan, according to the ministries of education and finance, which are implementing the plan.

Graduates who apply would be interviewed before they left campus this summer, and those who qualified could still choose civilian employers if they find jobs before the year-end.

Meanwhile, college students yet to finish their studies could also apply and their colleges would allow them to resume their courses when they complete their service, according the Education Ministry.

The PLA has previously relied mostly on high school graduates and the unemployed, although all males aged 18 to 22 are nominally obliged to undergo two years of service according to the country's conscription law.

Most college students take part in month-long military training.

China's State Council, or Cabinet, revised the government's recruitment regulations in September 2001 to enlist college students for the first time in a pilot scheme. More than 2,000 students around the country were recruited in the first year.

The move was originally intended to raise awareness of the responsibility and honor of serving the country in peacetime as the PLA has never had a problem finding new recruits.

But the military authorities soon realized the advantages of better educated enlisted personnel, especially in information-intensive posts.

Tang Yuying, a member of the 10th National People's Congress (NPC), proposed a bill to the top legislature in 2005 to enshrine the recruitment of college students into the conscription law.

College students had professional advantages in information technologies, legal affairs and management after they were recruited, said Tang, who was a senior engineer in a PLA communications unit.

Although Tang's bill is yet to be adopted, the State Council and the Central Military Commission started to promote recruitment in all colleges and universities in October 2005.

The government has also offered more favorable treatment to college graduates since the beginning of this year.

Premier Wen Jiabao said in the government report to the 11th NPC's second session on March 5 that graduates would be reimbursed for tuition fees or student loans if they served in rural regions or armed forces.

Moreover, graduate recruits would be preferred for promotions as non-commissioned officers or recommended to military academies. Those with bachelor degrees and outstanding performance could be directly commissioned.

After the two-year service, they could receive priority in programs to train grassroots police officers and other law enforcement positions.

They would also get an extra 10 points in entrance examinations for postgraduate studies after the service.

The recruitment drive is also regarded by some analysts as a measure to ease unemployment amid the global economic downturn.

A Defense Ministry survey of 22,000 colleges and universities found about 1.44 million male graduates were interested in military service.

With another 883,000 high school graduates who will not be enrolled by colleges and universities this summer, the potential recruitment pool is a record 2.32 million.

"This is amazing for recruitment. We never had so many choices before," said Hou. "We only recruited 39,000 college graduates last year."

Bai Zixing, director of Defense Ministry's recruitment office, said college graduates would meet the demand for information technology skills to operate the PLA's increasingly sophisticated equipment.

"The better education the enlisted personnel have, the better abilities to learn new tasks and operations they will gain," Bai said.

It would also reduce the education gap between enlisted personnel and commissioned officers who have at least three years of military academy studies, Bai said.

(Xinhua News Agency July 6, 2009)