Khunjerab means the "blood stained passage" in Tajik. It was 58 years ago
that when the whole nation celebrated joyously the founding of the People's
Republic of China, the Khunjerab Frontier Defense Company was established on
Pamirs Plateau with the altitude of over 4,300m.
In 1986, China opened the Khunjerab Pass and the people began to hear about
the officers and men of Khunjerab Frontier Defense Company. In 2004, the Central
Military Commission conferred on this company the honorable title of "Model
Company of Border Defence".
In the room of honor with silk banners and certificates of merit hanging
all over the walls, Company Commander Li Hongbo told the reporter, while
pointing at the geological coordinate of company, that the officers and men of
the company had measured by feet every inch of this sacred piece of land---their
defense area, in all these years. For several decades, the officers and men of
the company stood up to the tests of harsh environments, fighting against
enemies and the reform and opening up to establish a solid border barrier on the
snowy plateau.
Li Hongbo went on: "Every time we see the sacred boundary tablets standing
at the patrol points, the word "patriotism" will become so real and so special."
Then, he told the reporter a story behind a picture hanging on the wall: In
August 1998, 80 odd participants from various countries attending an
international symposium in Pakistan were invited to the Khunjerab Frontier
Defense Company to join them in the national flag hoisting event and see the
company's training, duty performance and everyday life. Mr. Wilson, a US
psychologist, said that the Chinese servicemen's loyalty to their country
manifests the strong cohesion and invincible force of the Chinese nation."
Stepping out of the room of honor, it suddenly dawned on the reporter, when
looking back at the map with the company's geological coordinates once again,
that the officers and men of the company had not only dedicated their ardent
youth to this frozen land with the altitude of over 4,300m, but had also
inscribed a inheritable spiritual coordinates with their patriotism, dedication
and loyalty. The said spiritual coordinates refer to the Chinese servicemen's
everlasting qualities of patriotism and dedication!
By Li Qinwei
(July 18, PLA Daily)