Beijing: Chinese military has announced that it will halt all paid public services such as hospitals and hotels to people within three years as part of reform to weed out corruption in the 2.3-million-strong world’s largest army.
The Central Military Commission (CMC) headed by Chinese President Xi Jinxing has called for an end to all paid services of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the People’s Armed Police Force, the PLA Daily reported.
As per the announcement the CMC, which is the supreme body of all the PLA forces planned to completely stop paid services within three years.
“Paid services can sometimes encourage corruption and the military should focus on national defence,” Gong Fangbin, a professor at the PLA’s National Defence University, told state-run Global Times.
Paid public services refer to services provided by the military to the public, such as military-run hospitals, hotels or others that do not pose a security risk, Gong said, adding that such services may be managed by social organisations in the future.
Services related to social security can be conducted within the military under the system of civil-military integration, official media here reported.
The announcement said all the military units should halt new projects or contracts involving paid services, and that expired contracts should not be renewed.
“The announcement also aims to improve the military’s combat capability,” Gong said. A PLA Daily editorial published yesterday also said that military should focus on how to win wars. “Profits will distract the military from strengthening its combat capabilities,” it read.
A large number of high ranking Generals of the PLA have been either punished or being prosecuted in the massive corruption campaign launched by Xi in the last three years.
The government also announced plans to trim the PLA by retrenching three lakh troops.
The military has also undergone huge structural changes with China recently implemented a series of reform measures to enhance the ruling Communist Party of China’s (CPC)leadership over the military and boost the PLA’s combat capabilities by establishing a more modern military system.
Under new reforms, China has recategorised its seven military area commands into five theatre commands to beef up the military’s combat capabilities and enhance its ability to face new challenges by improving response efficiency through a joint command system.
Chinese forces had been engaged in business activities to make up for insufficient military spending since the 1980s.
In 1998, the CPC required the military and armed police to halt all business activities, only allowing some designated organisations and industries to provide paid services, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported. (PTI)
