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Members of China’s armed police force attend a military parade in Beijing in September 2015. Photo: Xinhua

Proposal to expand role of China’s armed police force would strengthen Xi Jinping’s power: analysts

A proposal submitted to the National People’s Congress seeks to expand the role of the armed police and put the force more firmly under the command of the Central Military Commission – a move analysts say would consolidate the power of Xi Jinping.

Sun Sijing, political commissar of the armed police and a legislator attending the National People’s Congress in Beijing, had proposed a legal amendment that would clear the way for the changes, PLA Daily reported this week.

The amendment was aimed at ensuring the highest power of command was “firmly in the hands of the Communist Party’s central leadership, the CMC and [CMC] Chairman Xi”, it said.

The amendment has been under discussion since last June, according to the PLA Daily.

READ MORE: Son of China’s ex-defence minister Qin Jiwei appointed chief of staff of military’s armed police

Sun, speaking to the South China Morning Post on the sidelines of an NPC session yesterday, said the armed police were increasingly being used for disaster relief and maritime law enforcement operations and that their expanding duties should be defined in law.

The current armed police law, passed in 2009, states that the 660,000-strong force is under the dual leadership of the State Council and the CMC. It also requires the leadership to be shared by central and local commanders.

The force is used by local governments to maintain domestic security, fight terrorism and manage social unrest.

Experts said Sun’s proposal was a result of incidents that stemmed from the complex leadership of the force.

In 2012, the now-disgraced Chongqing party chief Bo Xilai reportedly sent a convoy of armed police to seize his one-time ally Wang Lijun, who had gone to the US consulate in Chengdu in an attempt to defect.

The incident set off one of China’s biggest political scandals in decades.

READ MORE: Former top Chinese police official and Zhou Yongkang ally jailed on corruption charges

Reports have also suggested the party’s former security tsar Zhou Yongkang attempted to mobilise the armed police force against the top party leadership in 2012. Zhou was jailed for corruption last year.

“The local government used armed police to besiege the US consulate and the rumours of a coup [in 2012] were also related to the armed police,” said Zeng Zhiping, a military law expert at the Nanchang Institute of Technology in Jiangxi.

“Such incidents would surely make the top leaders insecure. The force could be used against them at some time.”

Chen Daoyin, an associate professor at Shanghai University of Politics and Law, said there were many problems with the force’s present command system.

“It could trigger a crisis especially when there are conflicts between leadership of the government and the military,” he said.

The leadership of the armed police was reshuffled in 2014, when its commander and political commissar were replaced by officers from the People’s Liberation Army.

But Sun denied the proposal had anything to do with Zhou Yongkang, saying it was needed because the force was performing more ­duties.

Zhang Guibai, a member of the armed police force, said the current law was insufficient for the force.“A law amendment could help the force do a better job in maintaining social stability and protecting maritime rights.”

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