Law of the People’s Republic of China on Officers in Active Service
(Adopted at the 3rd Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Seventh National People’s Congress on September 5, 1988, promulgated by Order No. 8 of the President of the People’s Republic of China on September 5, 1988, amended for the first time in accordance with the Decision on Amending the Regulations of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army on the Military Service of Officers in Active Service adopted at the 7th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Eighth National People’s Congress on May 12, 1994, and amended for the second time in accordance with the Decision on Amending the Regulations of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army on the Military Service of Officers in Active Service adopted at the 19th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People’s Congress on December 28, 2000)
Contents
Chapter I General Provisions
Chapter II Basic Requirements for Officers and Their Sources and Training
Chapter III Appraisal of Officers and Their Appointment and Removal
Chapter IV Exchange of and Withdrawal by Officers
Chapter V Awards and Penalties for Officers
Chapter VI Material and Other Benefits for Officers
Chapter VII Officers’ Retirement from Active Service
Chapter VIII Supplementary Provisions
Law of the People’s Republic of China on Officers in Active Service
December 28, 2000
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 This Law is formulated for the purpose of building a contingent of revolutionary, younger, better educated and professional officers in active service to facilitate the People’s Liberation Army’s fulfillment of the tasks assigned by the State.
Article 2 Officers in active service in the People’s Liberation Army (hereinafter referred to as officers in short) are servicemen who hold posts at or above the platoon level or specialized technical posts at or above the junior level and who have been granted military ranks at corresponding levels.
By the nature of the posts they hold, officers are classified as operational officers, political officers, logistics officers, armaments officers and specialized technical officers.
Article 3 Officers constitute part of the State functionaries.
Officers shall perform the sacred functions and responsibilities entrusted to them by the Constitution and laws, and they shall, in public activities, enjoy the status and honor commensurate with their functions and responsibilities.
The State guarantees the lawful rights and interests of officers in accordance with law.
Article 4 In the selection and use of officers, the principles of appointing people on their merits, stressing both political integrity and professional competence, attaching importance to actual performance, and exchanging officers when appropriate shall be adhered to, democratic supervision exercised, and public comments respected.
Article 5 On the principle of giving preferential treatment to servicemen, the State determines the various kinds of material and other benefits for officers.
Article 6 Officers who meet the provisions on retiring from active service as specified in this Law shall retire from active service.
Article 7 The General Political Department of the People’s Liberation Army shall be responsible for managing the affairs concerning the officers of the entire Army, and the political departments of units at or above the regiment level shall be responsible for managing the affairs concerning the officers of their respective units.
Chapter II Basic Requirements for Officers and Their Sources and Training
Article 8 Officers shall meet the following basic requirements:
(1) being loyal to the motherland and to the Communist Party of China, cherishing firm revolutionary ideals and conviction, serving the people wholeheartedly, and devoting themselves to the cause of national defense;
(2) observing the Constitution, laws and regulations, implementing the principles and policies of the State and the rules and regulations of the Army, and obeying orders and commands;
(3) possessing, as required for performing their own duties competently, sufficient understanding of theories and policies, modern military, scientific, general and specialized knowledge, and the ability to organize and direct work, having received training in schools or academies and corresponding academic credentials, and being in good health; and
(4) cherishing the soldiers, setting good examples with their own conduct, being fair and upright, being honest and clean in performing their duties, working hard, and fearing no sacrifice.
Article 9 The sources of officers are as follows:
(1) graduates of schools or academies in the Army, who are originally selected from among outstanding soldiers and graduates of regular secondary schools to study therein;
(2) graduates of regular institutions of higher education;
(3) civilian cadres in the Army;
(4) specialized technicians and other persons recruited from outside the Army.
When needed in times of war, soldiers, enlisted reserve officers, and persons in non-military departments may be directly appointed as active officers.
Article 10 The People’s Liberation Army shall apply a system whereby its members are promoted as officers only after they have received training in schools or academies.
Operational, political, logistics and armaments officers shall be promoted to the next higher commanding post only after they have received training in the appropriate schools, academies, or other training institutions. Officers who hold commanding posts at or below the battalion level shall be ones who have received training in schools or academies for junior commanders; officers who hold commanding posts at the regiment or division level shall be ones who have received training in schools or academies for intermediate commanders; and officers who hold commanding posts at or above the corps level shall be ones who have received training in schools or academies for senior commanders.
Officers who serve in headquarters shall be one who have received training in appropriate schools or academies.
Specialized technical officers shall be promoted to the next higher specialized technical posts only after they have received training in specialized technical schools or academies corresponding to their specialties, or after they have completed the specified continued education by other means when training offered by institutions of education cannot meet the need.
Chapter III Appraisal of Officers and Their Appointment and Removal
Article 11 Leading cadres and political departments at various levels shall, in line with their division of responsibilities, appraise officers governed by them.
The appraisal shall be conducted in a comprehensive way by the leaders together with the rank and file, in compliance with the basic requirements for officers and the criteria, procedures and methods for the appraisal of officers formulated by the Central Military Commission, with stress on actual performance. The results of the appraisal are divided into three grades — excellent, qualified, and unqualified, and shall be taken as the main basis for appointing or removing officers. The officers concerned shall be notified of the results of the appraisal.
The appointment and removal of officers shall be preceded by appraisals; no appointment or removal may be made without an appraisal.
Article 12 The authority for the appointment and removal of officers is prescribed as follows:
(1) officers from the Chief of the General Staff and the Director of the General Political Department down to those at the level of division commander shall be appointed or removed by the Chairman of the Central Military Commission;
(2) officers at the level of deputy division commander (or brigade commander) and the level of regiment commander (or deputy brigade commander) and senior specialized technical officers shall be appointed or removed by the Chief of the General Staff, the Director of the General Political Department, the Director and the Political Commissar of the General Logistics Department, the Director and the Political Commissar of the General Armaments Department, the commanders and political commissars of the major military commands and of the various services and arms, or the heads of units equivalent to the major military commands; officers at the level of regiment commander (or deputy brigade commander) in units equivalent to quasi major military commands shall be appointed or removed by the heads of those units;
(3) officers at the level of deputy regiment commander and the level of battalion commander and intermediate specialized technical officers shall be appointed or removed by the commanders and political commissars of corps or the heads of units at the corps level which have the power to make such appointments and removals; officers serving as battalion commanders in an independent division shall be appointed or removed by the commander and political commissar of the independent division; and
(4) officers at or below the level of deputy battalion commander and junior specialized technical officers shall be appointed or removed by the commander and the political commissar of a division (or brigade) or the head(s) of a unit at the division (or brigade) level which has the power to make such appointments and removals.
The appointment and removal of officers described in the preceding paragraph shall be conducted in accordance with the procedures prescribed by the Central Military Commission.
Article 13 While emergency missions like battles or rescue or relief operations are being carried out, leading cadres at higher levels shall have the power to tentatively remove officers on their staff who disobey orders, refuse to perform their duties or are incompetent, and to assign other servicemen to take over their posts for the moment; when vacancies of officer posts appear because of other reasons, they, too, shall have the power to assign servicemen to fill in the vacancies tentatively.
The tentative removal of officers or assignment of servicemen to replace them made in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph shall be reported as soon as possible to the higher authorities that have the power of appointment and removal for examination and decision in order to complete the procedure for appointment or removal.
Article 14 The maximum age for operational, political, logistics and armaments officers in combat troops in peacetime shall be:
(1) 30 for officers at the platoon level;
(2) 35 for officers at the company level;
(3) 40 for officers at the battalion level;
(4) 45 for officers at the regiment level;
(5) 50 for officers at the division level;
(6) 55 for officers at the corps level; and
(7) 63 for officers at the level of deputy commander of the major military command and 65 for officers at the level of commander of the major military command.
The maximum age for officers at battalion or regiment level aboard naval vessels shall be 45 and 50 respectively; the maximum age for flying officers at the regiment level shall be 50.
The maximum age for a small number of the officers at the division or corps level in combat troops may be appropriately extended, provided this is necessitated by work and approved by the authorities with the prescribed power for appointment and removal. However, the maximum age extension for officers at the division level and at the level of corps commander shall be not more than five years while the maximum age extension for officers at the level of deputy corps commander shall be not more than three years.
Article 15 For officers in units other than combat troops, the maximum age for those at or below the level of deputy regiment commander and those at the level of the major military command shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of the first paragraph of Article 14 of this Law; the maximum age for those at the level of regiment commander, at the division level, at the level of deputy corps commander, and at the level of corps commander shall be 50, 55, 58, and 60 respectively.
Article 16 The maximum age for specialized technical officers in peacetime shall be:
(1) 40 for junior specialized technical officers;
(2) 50 for intermediate specialized technical officers; and
(3) 60 for senior specialized technical officers.
The maximum age for a small number of the senior specialized technical officers may be appropriately extended, but the extension shall be not more than five years, provided this is necessitated by work and approved by the departments which have the prescribed authority for appointment and removal.
Article 17 The minimum term of office for the principal commanders at the levels of platoon, company, battalion, regiment, division (brigade), and corps in peacetime shall be three years.
Article 18 The minimum term of office for chiefs of sections, subdivisions, divisions, bureaus and departments in headquarters or academies and schools and officers holding leading posts at corresponding levels shall be determined with reference to the provisions of Article 17 of this Law.
The minimum term of office at each grade of post for officers serving as staff officers, clerical workers, secretaries, assistants, instructors, etc. in headquarters or academies and schools shall be three years.
Article 19 The minimum term of office for specialized technical officers in peacetime shall be determined in accordance with the relevant regulations of the Central Military Commission.
Article 20 Officers may be promoted to the next higher level by filling vacancies available in the authorized size of the staff on the strength of their political integrity and professional competence, but only after they have completed their minimum term of office.
Officers who are outstanding in political integrity and professional competence and who have distinguished themselves in performing their duties may be promoted ahead of time, provided this is necessitated by work; those who are exceptionally outstanding may be promoted by skipping a grade.
Article 21 Officers to be promoted to the next higher level shall have the qualifications required by the posts they are to hold, including the record of assignments, educational level, and training received in academies or schools. The specific qualifications shall be prescribed by the Central Military Commission.
Article 22 Officers shall be appointed within the authorized size of the staff and in accordance with the authorized grading of posts.
Article 23 Officers whom appraisals prove to be unqualified for their posts shall be transferred to posts at lower levels or to other jobs, and their material and other benefits shall be redetermined accordingly.
Article 24 The maximum term of office for commanders and deputy commanders at or equivalent to the level of division, corps, or major military command in peacetime shall be ten years. Those who have completed their maximum term of office shall be relieved of their posts.
Article 25 To meet the needs in the building of national defense, the Army may send officers to non-military departments to fulfill the tasks assigned by the Army.
Article 26 Officers may be transferred to posts as civilian cadres in the Army in accordance with the regulations of the Central Military Commission.
Chapter IV Exchange of and Withdrawal by Officers
Article 27 Officers shall be exchanged between different posts or different units. Specific measures shall be prescribed by the Central Military Commission in accordance with this Law.
Article 28 Officers who have completed the following terms of office at one post shall be exchanged:
(1) in combat troops, four years for principal commanders at or below the division level and five years for principal commanders at the corps level;
(2) in units other than combat troops, five years for principal commanders at or below the corps level; and
(3) in headquarters, four years for chiefs of sections, subdivisions and divisions and officers holding leading posts at corresponding levels; five years for chiefs of bureaus and departments and officers holding leading posts at corresponding levels. But a small number of highly specialized officers and officers specially necessitated by work are exceptions.
Officers holding leading posts at the division and corps levels and having worked consecutively in the same unit for 25 years and 30 years respectively shall be exchanged.
Officers holding other posts shall also be exchanged as required.
Article 29 Officers working in the areas where conditions are hard shall be exchanged to other areas in accordance with the relevant regulations of the Central Military Commission.
Article 30 For officers having matrimonial relationship, lineal blood relationship, collateral blood relationship within three generations, or close marriage relationship, one of them shall not hold a post directly under the leadership of the other or a post of two levels lower under the leadership of the other, nor shall they hold posts in the same unit where both are directly subordinate to the same leader, nor shall one hold a post in the unit led by the other.
Article 31 No officer may hold the post of the principal commander of the military subcommand (or garrison command at the division level) or the department of the people’s armed forces of the county, municipality or district under the jurisdiction of the municipal government in his or her native place. But officers specially necessitated by work are exceptions.
Article 32 When officers perform the duties involving their own interests or the interests of the people having such relationships with them as listed in Article 30 of this Law, they shall withdraw. But officers carrying out combat tasks or other urgent tasks are exceptions.
Chapter V Awards and Penalties for Officers
Article 33 Officers who have made significant contributions or achieved outstanding successes in battle or in army building and those who have made considerable contributions to the State and the people in other fields of endeavor shall be awarded in accordance with the relevant regulations of the Central Military Commission.
The awards shall fall into the following categories: Honorable Citation; Citation for Merit, Class III; Citation for Merit, Class II; Citation for Merit, Class I; and conferment of honorable titles and other awards instituted by the Central Military Commission.
Article 34 Officers who have violated military discipline shall be given disciplinary sanctions in accordance with the regulations of the Central Military Commission.
The disciplinary sanctions shall fall into the following categories: disciplinary warning; serious disciplinary warning; recording of a demerit; recording of a serious demerit; demotion to a lower post, grade, or rank; dismissal from post; disciplinary discharge from the military service and other disciplinary sanctions prescribed by the Central Military Commission.
Article 35 Officers who have been dismissed from posts shall be appointed to new posts in the light of the specific circumstances under which they have made mistakes; for those who are not to be appointed to new posts, their grades of posts and material and other benefits shall be redetermined.
Article 36 Officers whose actions against the law constitute criminal offences shall be investigated for criminal responsibility in accordance with law.
Chapter VI Material and Other Benefits for Officers
Article 37 A system linking salary to post and military rank and a regular salary increase system shall be instituted for officers, who shall, in accordance with the relevant regulations of the State and the Army, enjoy allowances and subsidies which shall be duly adjusted with the development of the national economy. The specific scales and measures shall be prescribed by the Central Military Commission.
Officers shall continue to draw their salaries, when they, in accordance with the relevant regulations, receive off-service training, take vacation, receive medical treatment or recuperate, or when they wait for new assignments after being relieved of their duties.
Article 38 Officers shall enjoy free medical care. The relevant departments shall do a good job of providing medical and health services for officers and make proper arrangements for their medical treatment and recuperation.
Officers shall enjoy servicemen insurance in accordance with the relevant regulations of the State and the Army.
Article 39 Officers’ housing shall be guaranteed by a system under which public apartments are combined with self-owned houses. Officers may reside in public apartments or buy their own houses in accordance with regulations, and they shall enjoy appropriate housing subsidies and preferential treatment.
Article 40 Officers shall be entitled to vacation. Leading cadres at higher levels shall arrange annual vacation for officers in accordance with regulations.
Officers of units carrying out combat duties shall suspend their vacation.
When the State issues an order of mobilization, officers on vacation who are required to return to their units in response to the order shall terminate their vacation of their own accord and return to their units immediately.
Article 41 Officers’ family members shall enjoy the preferential treatment of the State and the society in respect of coming to reside with the officers, getting employed or transferred to other jobs and in respect of education for children.
Officers who are qualified to take along with them their family members, i.e., their spouses and their children who have not come of age or who do not have the ability to live by themselves, may do so after obtaining approval from the political departments at or above the division (or brigade) level, and those family members who are from the countryside may have their rural domicile registrations changed to urban ones.
When the units are shifted to other places for garrison duties or when the officers are assigned posts in other places, the officers’ family members who reside with them may be transferred along with them.
An officer who has reached the age of 50 but who has no son or daughter living with him or her may have one working son or daughter transferred to the place where he or she is stationed. If the son or daughter to be thus transferred is married, his or her spouse and his or her children who have not come of age or who do not have the ability to live by themselves may be transferred along with him or her.
The employment and transfer of jobs for officers’ family members who reside with the officers and for officers’ children and their children’s spouses who are transferred to the places where the officers are stationed shall be handled in accordance with the relevant regulations of the State Council and the Central Military Commission.
Article 42 The affairs of the family members who reside with the officers shall be handed over to the government after the officers’ death in action or because of illness. Specific measures shall be formulated by the State Council and the Central Military Commission.
Chapter VII Officers’ Retirement from Active Service
Article 43 The minimum term of active service for operational, political, logistics and armaments officers in peacetime shall be:
(1) Eight years for officers at the platoon level;
(2) 10 years for officers at the level of deputy company commander, and 12 years for officers at the level of company commander;
(3) 14 years for officers at the level of deputy battalion commander, and 16 years for officers at the level of battalion commander; and
(4) 18 years for officers at the level of deputy regiment commander, and 20 years for officers at the level of regiment commander.
Article 44 The minimum term of active service for specialized technical officers in peacetime shall be:
(1) 12 years for junior specialized technical officers;
(2) 16 years for intermediate specialized technical officers; and
(3) 20 years for senior specialized technical officers.
Article 45 No officers who have not completed their minimum term of active service in peacetime may retire from active service. However, those who fall into any of the following categories shall retire from active service ahead of time:
(1) being unable to carry on work regularly because of wound, illness, or disability;
(2) being appraised as unqualified for their posts and unsuitable for other arrangements;
(3) having made serious mistakes and being unsuitable for remaining in active service;
(4) being transferred from the Army to non-military departments; or
(5) having to retire from active service as a result of the readjustment and streamlining of the structure and organization of the Army.
Officers who have not completed their minimum term of active service in peacetime, whose applications for retiring from active service ahead of time have been rejected and who insist on early retirement despite persuasion may be allowed to do so after they are demoted to a lower post (or grade) by way of disciplinary sanction or after they are deprived of their status as officers.
Article 46 Officers who have reached the maximum age for active service in peacetime shall retire from active service.
The maximum age for officers in active service in peacetime shall be:
(1) 50 for officers at the level of regiment commander;
(2) 55 for officers at the division level;
(3) 58 for officers at the level of deputy corps commander, and 60 for officers at the level of corps commander; and
(4) the maximum age for officers in active service holding other posts shall be the same as the maximum age for their posts.
Article 47 Officers who have not reached the maximum age for active service in peacetime shall retire from active service if they fall into any of the following categories:
(1) having to retire from active service after completing their maximum terms of office;
(2) being unable to carry on work regularly because of wound, illness, or disability;
(3) being not in a position to be reappointed because of limitations on the size of the staff;
(4) being transferred from the Army to non-military departments; or
(5) having to retire from active service because of other reasons.
Article 48 Officers’ retirement from active service shall be subject to approval by the same authorities that have the power to approve their appointment and removal.
Article 49 After retiring from active service, officers shall be transferred to civilian jobs with the government assigning them jobs and posts or assisting them to get jobs and providing them with retirement pay; some of them may be treated as demobilized servicemen or as pensioners.
After retiring from active service, officers holding posts at or above the division level or senior specialized technical posts shall be treated as pensioners; some of them may be transferred to civilian jobs, or other arrangements may be made for them.
After retiring from active service, officers holding posts at or below the regiment level or junior or intermediate specialized technical posts shall be transferred to civilian jobs, or other arrangements may be made for them.
After retiring from active service, officers who are assigned jobs and posts or who are assisted to get jobs and provided with retirement pay by the government shall receive vocational training arranged by the government where necessary.
Officers who have basically lost their ability to work before reaching the maximum age for active service shall be treated as pensioners after retiring from active service.
Officers who have been in active service for 30 years or more, or who have been in active service and have worked for the State for a total of 30 years or more, or who are aged 50 or more, and who are at or above the division level may be treated as pensioners, provided they are released from active service upon approval of their applications for retirement by the competent authorities; and those who are at the regiment level and are not suitable for transference to civilian jobs or for other arrangements may be treated as pensioners, provided their retirement from active service is approved by the competent authorities.
Article 50 Officers who have reached the maximum age for active service may leave their posts to rest if they meet the relevant State requirements for doing so. Upon approval, some may do so before they reach the maximum age while others may stay longer in active service due to the need of work or for other reasons.
Article 51 The specific administrative measures for the arrangements to be made for the officers after they retire from active service shall be prescribed by the State Council and the Central Military Commission.
Arrangements for officers who have left their posts to rest and officers at or above the corps level who have retired from active service shall be made and their affairs administered in accordance with the relevant regulations of the State Council and the Central Military Commission.
Chapter VIII Supplementary Provisions
Article 52 The General Political Department of the People’s Liberation Army shall, in accordance with this Law, formulate measures for the implementation of this Law, which shall come into force upon approval by the State Council and the Central Military Commission.
Article 53 This Law shall be applicable to officers of the Chinese People’s Armed Police Force in active service. Specific measures shall be formulated by the State Council and the Central Military Commission.
Article 54 This Law (formerly known as Regulations of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army on the Military Service of Officers in Active Service) shall go into effect as of January 1, 1989. The Regulations on the Military Service of Cadres of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, which was approved by the Standing Committee of the Fifth National People’s Congress on August 18, 1978 and promulgated by the State Council and the Central Military Commission on August 19, 1978, shall be annulled as of the same date.