Young Pioneers - Investiture Ceremony

Today at the Hong Kong YMCA Jintang Primary School's opening exercises, the Investiture Ceremony was conducted bringing the first grade students into the Young Pioneers of China. The Young Pioneers of China is a mass youth organization for children in the People's Republic of China. The YP of China is run by the Communist Youth League, an organization of older youth that comes under the Communist Party of China. The YP of China is similar to Pioneer Movements that exist or existed in many Communist countries around the world.

YP members consist of children between the ages of six and fourteen; upon reaching the age of fourteen, YP members automatically exit the YP and may go on to join the Communist Youth League. In 2003, there were an estimated 130 million YP members in China.

The YP Salute consists of bending the right arm and raising the right hand directly above the head, the palm flat and facing downward, and the fingers together. It symbolizes that the interests of the People supersede all. The YP Promise is: I am a member of the Young Pioneers of China. Under the Pioneers Flag I promise that: I love the Communist Party of China, I love the motherland, I love the people; I will study well and keep myself fit, to prepare for: contributing my effort to the cause of communism.

The red scarf is the only uniform item. Young Pioneers are often referred to simply as "Red Scarves"; the Investiture Ceremony consists of new members having their scarves tied for them by existing members. The red scarf is generally worn around the neck and tied, with no woggle. The YP Constitution explains that the scarf corresponds to the missing triangle on the medium detachment flag and the red of the scarf comes from the blood sacrificed by martyrs of the Revolution, and that the members should therefore wear the scarf with reverence.

Two new members of the Young Pioneers of China.

The group of first graders who were made members
of the Young Pioneers of China.

NOTE: The above information was taken from the entry Young Pioneers of China in Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors. I accessed the article through Answers.com since Wikipedia cannot be accessed from China.