Special report: Marking 80th anniversary of PLA     

    BEIJING, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Yang Liwei, the first Chinese astronaut in space, said here on Wednesday that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) would continue to follow the command of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

    "We will follow the orders of the CPC Central Committee, the Central Military Commission and Chairman Hu," Yang said.

    Yang, also deputy director of the Space Medicine and Medical Engineering Research Institute of the PLA made the remarks on behalf of the heroes and model servicemen attending the meeting that marks the 80th anniversary of the founding of the PLA.

    He also said the soldiers should acquire new knowledge and skills and do more research on new equipment.

    "We will firmly safeguard China's sovereignty, territorial integrity, security and unity," he said.

    He said as model servicemen, they should play the role as a bridge to make greater contribution to the Party and people.

    Yang Liwei was sent into orbit on the Shenzhou V spacecraft in 2003.