China’s military: new PLA rule seen to cement troop loyalty to President Xi Jinping

Lower-ranked officers in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) will soon have more scope to supervise senior brass, under new rules that experts say are aimed at better securing the Chinese military’s loyalty to President Xi Jinping.

An amended regulation for servicemen committees was approved by the Central Military Commission (CMC) – the top military body – and will take effect from May 1, the official PLA Daily reported.

The amendment aims to bring the rules in line with “Xi Jinping Thought”, the report said, citing the CMC general office, but gave no details.

The move comes just months ahead of the 20th party congress, a twice-a-decade event expected to feature a major leadership reshuffle and a historic third term for Xi as general secretary.

The PLA Daily report highlighted the advantages of the “three grass roots democracies” – political, economic and military – seen as the key pillars of the servicemen committee legacy.

The servicemen committee was established by Red Army leader Mao Zedong in September 1927, when the Chinese Communist Party faced the most difficult time in its history – with its revolutionary army of workers and peasants decimated by the Kuomintang in the Autumn Harvest Uprising.

Chinese Communist Party resolution cements Xi Jinping’s leadership

Military and legal experts said the revival of grass roots democracy could be seen as an attempt to activate the old “red genes” of the Red Army, the predecessor to the PLA. This might help Xi, who also chairs the all-powerful CMC, to better control senior military officers, they believe.

“Xi appreciates the many legacies left by Mao Zedong,” said a retired senior colonel who requested to remain anonymous. “The revised regulation … indicates that Xi is going to give personal instructions for grass roots democracy like Mao.”

Ni Lexiong, a professor of political science and law at Shanghai University, said: “At that time, democracy – the spirit of the [1919] May Fourth Movement, still had a certain impact on Mao and other young Communist Party leaders. That’s why they proposed the ‘three democracies’.”

The three democracies, or “Sanwan reorganisation”, aimed to build party branches in all military company units to promote the communist ideology and also set up the servicemen committee, to give grass roots soldiers access to the same political and economic benefits as senior officers.

The move helped the party turn its troops, 70 per cent of whom were defectors from the KMT, into a loyal, disciplined and honest fighting force.

Two years later, Mao reformed the system and formalised his motto of “the party controls the gun”, affirming his core leader status in both the party and military.

The grass roots democratic systems are believed to have powered the party to victory in 1949, ending a three-year civil war and giving rise to the People’s Republic.

However, the servicemen committee had long been left on the back burner, said Zeng Zhiping, a retired PLA lieutenant colonel and military law expert at Suzhou City University.

“The new regulations may help to bring some political and economic powers from the upper levels to the grass roots, which would help Xi and the CMC to better prevent corruption in the military,” Zeng said.

The new rules come with the PLA having achieved dramatic progress over the past decade under Xi’s leadership, with more resources being invested to turn it into a modern army.

“Internet and new technologies could help the CMC to better manage complaints and reports from grass roots more carefully and secretly,” the senior colonel suggested, while warning: “Of course, it’s also very important to prevent the grass roots democratic system from going to extremes, which will lead to political disaster.”

Professor Ni in Shanghai also offered a note of caution: “I am still wary of the implementation of grass roots democracy in today’s PLA, it’s so hard to achieve the same result as in 1927. The times are so different.”