This past week saw a spate of reports in the Chinese media on the exemplary life of Gao Ming, an honor student at Peking University (PKU) who took a leave of absence to enlist in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Completing his two-year stint with flying colors, Gao is to resume his studies at PKU this November as a business major.

Internet chat rooms have been abuzz with talk about "the coolest dude at PKU." In fact, there has been so much coverage that it is referred to in the Chinese media as "the Gao Ming phenomenon."

Born in 1985 in the impoverished northwestern province of Gansu, Gao Ming lost his father in a car accident during his first year in junior high school. He and his younger brother were raised by their mother.

In 2003 Gao was admitted to Peking University, the most prestigious institute of higher learning in China. The following year, he joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In 2005, responding to an on-campus army recruitment drive, Gao became the first PKU student to enlist and was honored with a huge send-off ceremony.

In an interview with his hometown paper the Gansu Daily, Gao Ming credits his grandfather, a former soldier, with instilling in him a respect for the military profession. His own experience in the army, Gao notes, "has saturated my blood and marrow. Whatever profession or post I hold in the future, even if I take off my military uniform, I will always be a soldier!"

Gao is portrayed in various media reports as a young man of outstanding leadership qualities (being the only enlisted soldier to become a squad leader), physical fitness (finishing a 5K race in 18 minutes 17 seconds), superior intelligence (mastering in two days, as opposed to the usual one or two months, operational rules for missile testing), and admirable patriotism (having enlisted out of a "sense of responsibility" for the wellbeing of China).

People’s Daily, the organ paper of the CCP, has even featured "quotes from Gao Ming," where he is cited as saying he feels no regrets about his enlistment.

Soldiers have traditionally been accorded a low social status in China, as illustrated by the common idiomatic expression haonan bu dangbing (men of good quality do not become soldiers). The prominent press coverage given to Gao Ming is the latest expression of Beijing’s intent to change that stereotype in an effort to transform the PLA into a high-tech professional force from one traditionally comprised of ill-educated peasants.

Upgrading the quality of recruits has been a priority of China’s military modernization process since 1991, when the First Gulf War gave Beijing a wake-up call as to the importance of quality over quantity. That same year, the PLA began to recruit college students.

Universities, in turn, are offering incentives for students to enlist. For example, Gao Ming’s school will refund tuition and dormitory fees to enlistees who receive two Excellent Soldier awards. Enlistees will also be permitted to change their majors without having to take an exam when they resume their studies.

Since its inception, the PLA has served not merely as China’s defense force, but also as the military wing of the Chinese Communist Party. That is likely to remain unchanged with a modernized and better-educated force made up of a generation of Gao Mings. This past August 1, at a rally in Beijing marking the 80th anniversary of the founding of the PLA, President Hu Jintao made that quite clear by stating that following the command of the party is the "unshakable and fundamental principle for the PLA."