Special report: Marking 80th anniversary of PLA

Chinese President Hu Jintao, who is also general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and chairman of the Central Military Commission, addresses the grand rally marking the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, August 1, 2007.(Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    YINCHUAN, Aug.3 (Xinhua) -- The hospital is a nondescript two-storey building in downtown Yinchuan, capital of northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. Passers-by sometimes see patients irrigating vegetables or practicing shadow-boxing in the courtyard.

    They have been hospitalized in the Northwest Mental Health Center of the Armed Police supervised by 33-year-old Sun Xiangping.

    Sun's job is one of the most difficult and challenging in China's military forces: her practice does not sit easily with military discipline that requires obedience without questions.

    Identifying the problem

    Born into a military family, Sun Xiangping aspired to join the services as a child. On graduating from Ningxia Medical College in July 1997, Sun joined the Ningxia Armed Police Hospital, where she practiced clinical diagnosis.

    In 2000, a field trip to the sub-branches changed Sun's path. She found many soldiers suffered mental problems or disorders. She was alarmed to hear that one man had drowned himself in a river because he could not adapt to the tough military life. Another hanged himself after he was deprived of a chance to sit for a military college examination.

    She proposed to the hospital that a psychiatric clinic be set up to provide counseling and therapy. "I knew it was an uphill task, as I had not received any proper training," she admits.

    Her proposal was approved and a psychotherapy clinic was opened in January 2001. It was the first full-time clinic of its kind for China's armed police. At 660,000 strong, the armed police is the largest contingent of China's armed forces.

    However, Sun's enthusiasm fell on barren ground: nobody made an appointment, nor did the hotline phone ring during the first week of operation.

    Her colleagues sneered at Sun for "not attending to proper duties". Many officers were contemptuous of psychotherapy. "They thought it was a waste of time and undermined their political work, one of the core duties of the army that dates back to the 1920s," she says.

    The worst blow was in the summer of 2001. When Sun visited a unit, the commander immediately blew his whistle and mobilized all personnel, telling her she was unwelcome because they had urgent duties to attend to.

    Wordless in despair, Sun left the squadron. But she didn't give up her career. "I was taught a lesson that understanding is prerequisite in psychological works, and I decided to go deep into my fellows' life and share what they have to deal with."

    Meanwhile, she took a correspondence course in psychological counseling and psychotherapy at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, completing her studies 18 months ahead of schedule.

    Later, Sun qualified as a psychological counselor with the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, cementing her credentials in psychotherapy.