Troops from The People's Liberation Army perform marching drills for the public on May 01, 2007. Photo credit: Rob Olsen
A video apparently showing Chinese soldiers playing a life and death game of hot potato with a live grenade has spread like wildfire on YouTube.
The uploader’s description indicated it is real footage of People’s Liberation Army of China soldiers stationed in Hong Kong undergoing “intense” training, and that the “the exercise is just one of many used by the PLA.”
Alexander Abad-Santos of The Atlantic Wire took the video at face value: “Totally assuming that the grenade is real and that any bobble might mean the difference between life and death, the video hits on the ‘can’t look away from the train wreck’ sweet spot of internet videos.” “It may also be just an indication of just how serious (or seriously crazy) the Chinese military can be”, said Abad-Santos, who added “there aren’t any confirmations (and we’ll be looking) for the video or the grenade’s authenticity. From the insignia, it looks like the video was broadcast on China’s CCTV.” The Guardian ran the video with a simple description of its contents which suggested they believe it to be the real deal.
Do you think it’s real? Let us know your thoughts.
