Kid soldiers’ marching orders A newspaper last week printed a photo of Chinese children smiling , happy, clapping, excitedly reaching out toward welcoming America’s president. Yeah? Really? Must be they thought he brought day-old dim sum. A few Christmases ago, I flew to Shanghai with a friend whose family then lived in China. Being a holiday, their kids — roughly 7 and 8 — were allowed to bring guests to visit their nearby school. Classroom perfect. Neat, quiet. Bell rang. The children rose.