Wikipedia

Conscription in China

China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) began as an all-volunteer force. In 1955, as part of an effort to modernize the PLA, the first Military Service Law created a system of compulsory military service.[1] Since the late 1970s, the Chinese conscription laws mandate a hybrid system that combines conscripts and volunteers.[1][2][3] Due to sufficient volunteer recruitment, mandatory military service has not been enacted in China since 1949.[4][5]

Current system

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The Chinese system operates through a process of draft registration.[6][7] De jure, military service with the PLA is obligatory for all Chinese citizens. However, mandatory military service has not been enacted in China since 1949.[4][5] According to the CIA's The World Factbook, "the PLA’s conscription system functions as a levy; the PLA establishes the number of enlistees needed, which produces quotas for the provinces; each province provides a set number of soldiers or sailors; if the number of volunteers fails to meet quotas, the local governments may compel individuals to enter military service."[8]

By law, male citizens have to register themselves with the government authorities when they reach 18 years old.[9][better source needed] Local governments have recruitment quotas, and registered citizens are not called when the quotas are met.[9][better source needed] These registered citizens automatically become reserves and are required to attend short training sessions periodically before age 22. They would no longer be liable for service after age 22.[9][better source needed] Those who are aged between 17 and 18 can also voluntarily register for the draft.[10] For those who entered PLA as conscripts, if they fulfilled their service obligation can stay in the military as volunteer soldiers for a total of 16 years.[1][3] In practice, mandatory military service has not been implemented since 1949 as the People's Liberation Army has been able to recruit sufficient numbers voluntarily.[5]

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Those who voluntarily join the force are still counted as "conscripts" in the PLA but are provided with personal allowances, family subsidies, and post-service employment support. If the "conscripts" choose to stay in the force after two years of service, they can become a non-commissioned officer (NCO), with a higher, regular salary.[11][better source needed]

According to Jamestown Foundation, the Chinese military has indistinct definitions of the terms regarding conscription.[1] For example, the term "conscripts" (Chinese: 义务兵; pinyin: Yìwùbīng; lit. 'obligated soldier') refers to all enlisted military personnel regardless of their status as recruited, conscripted, or voluntarily joined. Similarly, the term "conscription" (Chinese: 征兵; pinyin: Zhēngbīng; lit. 'conscription') makes no distinction between "conscription", "enlistment", and "recruitment" in the PLA documentation. Those who volunteered to join the force are still called "[being] conscripted" by the PLA.[1]

For a substantial amount of time, the Chinese military rarely used the word "volunteers", which has become interchangeable with the word "non-commissioned officer" (NCO) in their forces. For the first two years of recruited personnel, regardless of their status as conscripted or voluntarily joined, all are designated "conscripts". When the "conscripts" become NCOs, they are sometimes called "volunteers".[12]: 47  This practice has led to the confusion that the PLA is a conscription-based force. In 2011, China modified the Military Service Law, attempting to standardize the concept of conscription inline with international standards, in which the PLA was defined as a "hybrid force" consisting of both conscripts and volunteers, with "volunteers being the majority". According to research conducted by Taiwanese Ministry of Defense, the revised languages help to clarify that current PLA members are all voluntarily joined, while the "hybrid force" designation maintains the flexibility for the future implementation of the "compulsory military service" when needed.[12]: 53 

Punishment

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Even though mandatory military service has not been implemented since 1949, people avoiding service when called up are still liable for punishment, and Beijing authorities criticize those youths who do not want to join the army.[13][non-primary source needed]

History

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Between 1949 and 1955, the PLA implemented the Voluntary Military Service System to gradually transform from the informal Militia System (Chinese: 民兵制). Individuals who volunteer for military service serve in the military for an extended period.[14][15] However, without formal legislation to codify or regulate the system, complex political dynamics, such as the Land Reform Movement, led to instances of violence between militia members and civilians that were not brought to justice.[16] The system faced problems such as a lack of proper trainings[17] and aging populations.[18]

On July 30, 1955, the Second Session of the First National People's Congress passed China's first Military Service Law, and the PLA began implementing the conscription system. During this period, except for a few units that retained a very small number of voluntary soldiers, the entire military essentially operated under a uniform obligated conscription system.[19][15] The Military Service Law stipulated the service duration for conscripts as follows: three years for the army, four years for the air force, and five years for the navy. The duration of active duty for conscripts has undergone several changes over the years. In 1965, the service periods were set at 4 years for the Army, 5 years for the Air Force, and 6 years for the Navy. In 1967, these were adjusted to 2 years for the Army, 3 years for the Air Force, and 4 years for the Navy. Starting in 1978, the active duty periods were revised to 3 years for Army soldiers, 4 years for soldiers in the Air Force, Navy ground forces, and Army special technical units, and 5 years for soldiers in Navy vessel units and Army ship units. On May 31, 1984, the Second Session of the Sixth National People's Congress reviewed and approved the revised "Military Service Law of the People's Republic of China." The law set the service periods to 3 years for the Army and 4 years for the Air Force and Navy. The 1998 amendment standardized the active duty period for conscripts to 2 years and eliminated provisions for extended service.[20]

The "Military Service Law of the People's Republic of China" stipulates that the PLA combines conscripts as the main component with volunteers, and integrates militia and reserve service.[21][22] The Law was amended in 1998 during the Sixth Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress, through the "Amendment to the Military Service Law of the People's Republic of China." This amendment removed the emphasis on conscripts as the "main component" of the military service system. Article 2 now stipulates: "The People's Republic of China practises a military service system which combines conscripts (Chinese: 义务兵）with volunteers (Chinese: 志愿兵) and a militia with a reserve service."[23]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Allen, Kenneth (14 January 2022). "The Evolution of the PLA's Enlisted Force: Conscription and Recruitment (Part One)". China Brief. 22 (1). Jamestown Foundation. Archived from the original on 16 April 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  2. ^ "China is struggling to recruit enough highly skilled troops". The Economist. November 6, 2023. ISSN 0013-0613. Archived from the original on 10 February 2024. Retrieved 2024-02-11. In the late 1970s it adopted the current hybrid system of volunteers and conscripts.
  3. ^ a b Allen, Kenneth W.; Corbett, Thomas; Taylor A., Lee; Xiu, Ma (November 3, 2022). "Personnel of the People's Liberation Army" (PDF). United States–China Economic and Security Review Commission. p. 23. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 December 2023. Retrieved 2024-02-11.
  4. ^ a b Wang, Amber (30 April 2022). "The new rules China hopes will build more professional soldiers". South China Morning Post.
  5. ^ a b c "Taiwan Is Extending Conscription. Here's How Its Military Compares to Other Countries". Time. 6 January 2023. Archived from the original on 8 January 2023. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  6. ^ "市政府征兵办发布网上兵役登记通告 适龄公民必须参与兵役登记 (Conscription Office Announced That Citizens of the Right Age Must Register for the Draft.)". Wen Wei Po. 2017-01-27. Archived from the original on 2019-02-20. Retrieved 2017-01-31.
  7. ^ "今年征兵准备工作全面展开 国防部征兵办公室下发通知确保高质量完成征兵任务 (The Preparation of Recruitment in This Year Has Begun. Ministry of Defence Announced That the Conscription should be finished in high quality)". Xinhua News Agency. 2016-01-11. Archived from the original on 2017-10-01. Retrieved 2017-01-31.
  8. ^ "Military service age and obligation". The World Factbook. Archived from the original on 2024-01-12. Retrieved 2024-02-11.
  9. ^ a b c "Country report and updates: China". War Resisters' International. 15 March 1998. Archived from the original on 29 September 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  10. ^ "今年征兵准备工作全面展开 国防部征兵办公室下发通知确保高质量完成征兵任务 (The Preparation of Conscription in This Year Has Begun. Ministry of Defence Announced That the Conscription should be finished in high quality)". Xinhua News Agency. 2016-01-11. Archived from the original on 2017-10-01. Retrieved 2017-01-31.
  11. ^ "中国服兵役是强制的吗". 66 Lawyer Consultant. 8 March 2023. Archived from the original on 11 February 2024. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  12. ^ a b 謝游麟 (October 2023). "從2012～2023年 中共兵役制度之變革" (PDF). 陸軍學術雙月刊 [Army Bimonthly]. 中華民國國防部 [Ministry of National Defense (Republic of China)]. doi:10.6892/AB.202310_59(591).0004.
  13. ^ Hao Peng-yu (郝鵬宇), Yan Hao (嚴浩) (2016-04-21). "三名青年拒服兵役當逃兵被依法處罰 (3 youths escaping from the army are punished)". 中國國防報 (Chinese Journal of Defense). Archived from the original on 2017-02-05. Retrieved 2017-02-04.
  14. ^ "article 23 of the common program of the people's republic of china 1949-1954". www.commonprogram.science. Retrieved 2024-06-30.
  15. ^ a b 陈, 传刚 (2018). "从志愿兵役制改为义务兵役制的历史过程" (PDF). 军事历史. 2018–03: 56–63.
  16. ^ Perry, Elizabeth J. (2019). "Making Communism Work: Sinicizing a Soviet Governance Practice" (PDF). Comparative Studies in Society and History. 61 (3): 535–562. doi:10.1017/S0010417519000227. ISSN 0010-4175.
  17. ^ Hucker, Charles O. (August 1958). "Understanding China: A Handbook of Background Information on Changing China". The Journal of Asian Studies. 17 (4): 619–620. doi:10.2307/2941194. ISSN 0021-9118. JSTOR 2941194.
  18. ^ 《当代中国军队的军事工作》 ( 下) ，401 页，北京， 中国社会科学出版社，1989
  19. ^ Setzekorn, Eric B. (2018). The rise and fall of an officer corps: the Republic of China military, 1942-1955. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0-8061-6118-1.
  20. ^ "新中国成立后我国兵役制度的四次重大调整_资讯频道_凤凰网". 2017-11-12. Archived from the original on 2017-11-12. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
  21. ^ "中国的兵役制度（一）_中国人大网". www.npc.gov.cn. Retrieved 2024-06-30.
  22. ^ "漫谈历史上的兵役制度 - 中国军网". www.81.cn. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
  23. ^ "Military Service Law of the People's Republic of China". www.npc.gov.cn. Retrieved 2024-06-30.
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