China Ramps Up Military Ed For Youngins To Help Sow ‘Seeds’ Of Patriotism

[Borg Refinery]

[..] Reaching younger kids

For decades, in addition to its mostly voluntary conscription system, China has deployed a system of public military education that includes compulsory training in high schools and universities. The approach, while not common, has also been used in Russia and North Korea.
Russia revived compulsory military training for high school students in 2023, a year after it invaded Ukraine, and decades since the practice was dropped following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
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Combat training and drones
When they were first adopted in the 1980s, these short-term military training sessions for Chinese students were little more than military marching, formation drills and physical exercise.
But recently, the exercises have become much more immersive, as some training features the use of combat equipment such as drones, and the simulation of real battlefield environments, according to publicly available information.
In China's southern Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, which borders Vietnam, students at Guilin University of Electronic Technology underwent combat training with rocket launchers and simulated drone bombings, according to a report by The Beijing News last September.
That same month, students at Peking University in Beijing conducted target practice with guns, while 5,000 students at Shanghai Jiao Tong University marched at night while learning how to avoid air attacks, according to a report by The Paper.
China's unique short-term military training programmes are unlike those of many other countries, which operate some form of conscription that requires longer stints of military service, with 32 of them requiring more than 18 months of service for men.
However, military education in China is systematically conducted across different levels of schools through courses and lectures beginning in primary schools, as well as activities such as visits to military memorial sites and military training camps.
In April, a group of kindergarten children was sent to observe the training of frontline soldiers in the Eastern Theatre Command Air Force, according to an official military post on Weibo.
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South China Morning Post

It seems set to be mandatory following passage of this bill - link

BEIJING -- China wants to promote awareness of national defense in children as young as elementary school under proposed legislation that would require military training at high schools and universities.
The aim is to teach all members of society the "theory, knowledge and skills associated with national defense," according to draft revisions to the National Defense Education Law.
The move to amend the law for the first time since 2018 comes amid rising tensions with the U.S. over Taiwan and the South China Sea. Some universities have already allowed students to train with live ammunition and tanks.
The draft had its first reading by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress late last month and has been opened to public comment.
The draft calls for instilling some degree of national defense awareness among elementary school children. Middle schoolers are to learn basic knowledge and skills, while high school and university students would undergo mandatory military training. This education and training would be guided by the government and the People's Liberation Army.

The bill's progress can be tracked here - link