A senior People's Liberation Army (PLA) officer said yesterday that over 3 million soldiers have been mobilized to build 680 infrastructure projects in the past five years, two days after the State Council honored 31 military units and 31 soldiers at the 4th National Awards Ceremony for Ethnic Unity and Progress in Beijing.

"As the majority of the army is garrisoned in areas inhabited by ethnic minorities, relations between the PLA and local communities are very important for the country's ethnic unity," said Chang Shengrong, major general of the General Political Department of the PLA.

Increasing awareness of ethnic minorities and religious practices amongst soldiers and officers has also been a priority, he said.

Community leaders have been invited to give talks and soldiers are encouraged to study minority languages and get to know their customs and religious beliefs, according to Chang.

The PLA has to date printed more than 600,000 pamphlets and filmed 100 programs to help soldiers learn more about ethnic minority affairs and relations, according to Chang.

China is home to 55 ethnic minorities with a total population of more than 100 million, mainly living in the western part of the country and frontier areas.

"The PLA cannot do its work well without the help of local people, and development in many ethnic minority areas benefits from help offered by the PLA," said Chang, who is in charge of the army's civilian relations.

The construction and expansion of seven airports - including Gonggar Airport in Tibet, Hotan Airport in Xinjiang, Dunhuang Airport in Gansu and Jiuzhaigou Airport in Sichuan - were all completed by PLA soldiers, according to Chang.

He said the army has also played an active role in humanitarian relief work in minority regions, where conditions are often harsh and natural disasters frequent.

PLA troops have taken part in more than 500 relief programs in the past five years, arriving on site after earthquakes in Bachu, Jiashi and Zhaosu counties in Xinjiang, and mudslides in Dehong in Yunnan Province and Yigong in Tibet.

They have rescued at least 600,000 people, at the cost of more than 30 soldiers, said Chang.

He said last but not least, the PLA had "created a stable social environment in ethnic minority regions."

From last year, Lanzhou Military Command and armed police in Xinjiang have held joint military exercises with the armies of neighboring countries, with the aim of polishing their terrorism response mechanisms.

"Military exercises have effectively prevented terrorist forces from disturbing social order and maintained safety and stability in frontier regions," said the major general.

(China Daily May 30, 2005)