The Chinese government’s campaign against a US and South Korean anti-missile system has attracted some unusual recruits: school children as young as seven who have joined impromptu rallies and boycotts across the country. 

This month, the Century Star Elementary School in Yali township, part of Hebei province, organised a rally attended by about 400 students and staff. In a video posted online, students no older than 12 pledged to boycott South Korean products and “resist” the deployment of a US-operated Terminal High Altitude Area Defence system, or Thaad. 

At the rally, a school teacher painted a grim picture of the potential consequences of the Thaad deployment. “South Korea is our neighbour,” the teacher said. “In the event of war, the US will turn China into a slaughterhouse. For China, [Thaad] is a fatal threat.”