China worries about shortage of Breathe-Right Strips©

The Chinese military has been making a number of changes regarding their recruits. One of which is the banning of noisy snorers, "the nasal sound of chronic snorers disturbs collective life". That's what I like to see! Government officials most likely attempting to get rid of their competition for promotions by calling them out on ideological infractions! Snoring was one of many reforms being implemented by the military in order to increase the solidarity and integrity of the Chinese military. But speaking of ideoloy, the military has also seen an increase in the prominence of a meritocracy as the prefered way of organizing. They have increased the restrictions on "fashionable tattoos" and have begun intelligence and drug tests.

The article makes a point of discussing snoring before including the bit referring to intelligence exams (Ah the media, *chuckles); however, if anything this can be seen as positive for both China and Fox news. China's increase in military competence exhibits the growing trend in the willingness of China to substitute devotion to the party and "redness" for intellectual ability and efficacy. I'm impressed. ( I'm sure Sean Hannity just hasn't heard of this yet, but a growth in the functional ability of China can only spell disaster for the United States.)

The ramifications of this are multi-faceted; not only will Chinese troops be less inclined to use their bunk pillows as projectiles, the overall integrity of the military may be taking steps toward a meritocracy. Hopefully, such reforms will also aide in the prevention of nationalist-led punitive action such as the Tiananmen control operation, and lead to a more cautious (or at least efficient) risk-averse military.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4939514.stm