Beijing should embrace patriotic youths from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan and let them join the People’s Liberation Army, said a National People’s Congress delegate attending the “two sessions” annual meeting of China’s legislature in the capital.

Cai Peihui, a Hong Kong-based businessperson who has family roots in the Taiwanese city of Tainan but who grew up over the straits in Fujian, China, said joining the army was his childhood dream and that his wish came true when he took part in the Sino-Vietnam border war in 1979.

His patriotic feelings were awakened by his war experience, he said, calling for the unification of the mainland and Taiwan and the strengthening of economic development across the straits. He objected to Taiwan independence, saying that any attempt to split China will not be tolerated.

Cai also condemned separatists in Hong Kong, saying that independence will not win people’s hearts but only hit a dead end. The Basic Law, Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, and support from the motherland will bring the city a bright future, he added.

Talks about allowing young Hongkongers to serve in the PLA were first raised in 2011 when the then director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office Wang Guangya met with young people. The pro-Beijing New People’s Party launched a petition to back the proposal.

The pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong launched another proposal during 2015′s “two sessions” but officials said at the time that China’s Military Service Law was not applicable in Hong Kong, and there is still no legal pathway for Hongkongers to join as of now.

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