A video screenshot shows Zhou Huzhen, chairman of Hebei University Of Science & Technology, as he reviews freshmen in military training in Baoding, North China's Hebei province, on Sept 11, 2015.

Freshmen military review stirs controversy

A video in which a college leader reviews freshmen in military training has gone viral on Sunday via WeChat, the mobile messaging app, with many Internet users criticizing that the review spectacle was out of place for a school, the paper.cn reported.

The six-minute film clip shows Zhou Huzhen, the chairman of Hebei University Of Science & Technology in Baoding, North China's Hebei province, standing on the bed of a a white pick up truck, waving to freshmen dressed in military uniforms andshouting "Hello Students", "You have worked hard". The students shout back, "Hello, chief" and "Serve the people" - striking a scene quite similar to the Sept 3 victory parade in Beijing. The parade marked the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.

"It was like the military parade... We had a similar routine when I was a freshman last year. Kind of weird, but still acceptable," a sophomore to declined to be identified said.

College official He Lei said the review was held to mark the end of freshmen military training.

An official surnamed Fang with the school's publicity department said the video was not produced by the school and they did not expect it would spread online so fast.

"They were exaggerating, the leader was just waving from the car, leading the students to shout slogans," Fang said.

On Sunday night, the video and story, which was on an official local WeChat account, were deleted.

The People's Liberation Army formation regulations stipulating that the review of troops could only be carried out by the leaders of the Party and the country, chairman, vice chairman, members of the Central Military Commission, military officers above the regimental level or those authorization by them.

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