Chinese leaders gather for back-to-back meetings after military veterans protest

Officials share ‘best practices’ after latest demonstration that was broken up by armed police and call on top local authorities to personally take care of services

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Thousands of military veterans took to the streets of Zhenjiang, Jiangsu last month seeking better welfare rights and an end to violence against them. Photo: Handout

Published: 6:45pm, 2 Jul 2018Updated: 11:21pm, 2 Jul 2018

Senior Chinese officials gathered for two high-profile meetings over the weekend as they scramble to placate military veterans after thousands took to the streets last month to demand better welfare rights and an end to violence against them.

At a two-day conference in Hebei – chaired by Vice-Premier Sun Chunlan and attended by security chief Guo Shengkun and police chief Zhao Kezhi – the three state leaders shared “best practices” on veterans affairs with provincial authorities and bureaucrats.

They also called on top local officials to personally take care of services for veterans. Both Sun and Guo sit on the 25-member Politburo.

It followed a meeting of the newly created Ministry of Veterans Affairs on Friday, at which deputy minister Qian Feng told Communist Party members that officials had been trying to streamline and improve welfare programmes and set up an online complaints system.

Vice-Premier Sun Chunlan chaired the two-day conference in Hebei. Photo: Reuters

The meetings were held not long after a five-day protest in the country’s east that was only brought to an end when armed police were sent in to disperse the crowd on June 24.