Murphy's Law: Their Soldiers Look So Similar

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May 27, 2015: One example of the extent of the modernization of the Chinese Army was seen in an embarrassing incident in Taiwan. In late March it was discovered that a recruiting poster for the Taiwanese Army (encouraging conscripts or civilians to become career soldiers) had incorrectly used a picture of Chinese Army soldiers. The Taiwanese officer seeking a photo for the poster had searched online for a something showing Taiwanese soldiers in combat uniforms and quickly (without looking closely or reading the caption) grabbed one showing Chinese Army soldiers. This fooled most, but not all, people who saw the poster. The error was reported to army headquarters and they confirmed that these were not Taiwanese soldiers in some new combat uniform. Chinese troops have been wearing several generations of new camouflage uniforms since the 1990s. The Chinese troops also now wear helmets similar to those used by Taiwanese and American troops, along with similar protective vests. Similar mistakes have happened in the West, with photos or video or Russian warships being mistaken for American ones. But such a mistake in Taiwan is more meaningful because China claims Taiwan is a province of China that has managed to maintain its independence since the communist took over China in the late 1940s. China blames the United States for this and generally ignores the fact that most Taiwanese do not want to be part of China, just like the Chinese majority in Singapore. While China recognizes the independence of Singapore, it insists it will eventually get Taiwan back. After all, their soldiers look so similar.

 

 

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