The guns appeared real enough. And then we found out that’s because they were. Brought along to a local school on its first day back, the intention was national defence education for children as they began their 9 years of mandatory schooling.
枪看起来足够真实。然后我们发现那是因为他们是。回来第一天就被带到当地一所学校，目的是为孩子们进行国防教育，开始他们9年的义务教育。
Grade one students heading to their first day at one particular school in Qingjiangpu District of Huai’an City in our very own Jiangsu Province yesterday, 6 September, got quite the surprise.
昨天（9月6日），一年级的学生们在江苏省淮安市清江浦区的一所学校开学，他们感到非常惊讶。
A military parade. There to greet the students and their parents was a mock military display put on by senior students. Lining each side of a red carpet, dressed in camouflage, armed with weapons and standing to attention they shouted in unison, “Welcome new students”.
阅兵式。在那里迎接学生和他们家长的是高年级学生进行的模拟军事表演。他们穿着迷彩服，手持武器，站在红地毯的两侧，齐声喊道：“欢迎新学生”。
The bizarre, and to western eyes, unnerving, “educational activity” took place at Jijialou Primary School in Huai’an. There, a giant anti-aircraft gun was also present to provide the appropriate backdrop.
这场在西方人看来令人不安的离奇“教育活动”发生在淮安市纪家楼小学。那里还有一门巨大的高射炮来提供适当的背景。
Excitedly standing in line, the children then had their chance to fire what appears to be the Chinese QBZ-95 assault rifle, or a mock up thereof. The widely-issued, infantry small-arms-weapon is the official rifle of China’s People’s Liberation Army.
孩子们兴奋地排队，然后有机会射击看似中国 QBZ-95 突击步枪或其模型。这种广泛配发的步兵轻武器是中国人民解放军的官方步枪。
“What’s going on here? Where did my bullet go? Did it fly?”, one little girl said strangely. When they were done, it was the turn of their parents. By all accounts, they did not want to go home.
“这是怎么回事？我的子弹去哪了？飞了吗？”一个小女孩奇怪的说道。当他们完成后，就轮到他们的父母了。从各方面来看，他们都不想回家。
Then the children had their chance with the rocket launchers. Thankfully, as a video released by the Yangtze Evening News shows, when the children pulled the triggers there was less of an enormous blast and more of a loud pop; the launchers had been loaded with paint grenades.
然后孩子们就有机会使用火箭发射器。值得庆幸的是，正如《扬子晚报》发布的视频所示，当孩子们扣动扳机时，并没有发出巨大的爆炸声，而是发出了一声巨响；发射器装有油漆手榴弹。
Such an activity is called a “national defense education program”. Feng Xinghua, President of the School, told reporters that on 1 September, the CPC Central Committee, the State Council and the Central Military Commission had issued the “Opinions on Strengthening and Improving the National Defence Education of the Whole People in the New Era” (关于加强和改进新时代全民国防教育工作的意见).
这样的活动被称为“国防教育活动”。学校校长冯兴华告诉记者，9月1日，中共中央、国务院、中央军委印发了《关于加强和改进新时代全民国防教育工作的意见》。
Pointing out that it is necessary to strengthen the national defence education of young people, the Opinions stress the use of existing-military-training weapons, equipment and personnel to carry out national defence education for parents and children who have just entered the first grade.
《意见》指出，要加强青少年的国防教育，强调利用现有军训武器装备和人员，对初一年级的家长和孩子开展国防教育。
Whether the “weapons” used in the activity were real or not is beside the point. It was the children’s first day of school. Surely the phrase to take home today is “existing-military-training weapons”. At least there is some solace in the fact the 6-year olds weren’t using live rounds.
至于活动中使用的“武器”是否真实，则不是重点。这是孩子们上学的第一天。今天带回家的肯定是“现有的军事训练武器”。至少，这些 6 岁的孩子没有使用实弹，这让我们感到有些安慰。
