Military tightens civilian regulations

The Central Military Commission, China's top military authority, recently published a document tightening rules governing the connections military personnel have with nonmilitary organizations and civilians.

The document was jointly drafted and issued by the commission's Political Work Department, Logistic Support Department and Discipline Inspection Commission. It aims to close loopholes regarding interactions between military and civilian entities.

It includes 13 types of banned activities such as receiving money or securities from nonmilitary organizations or individuals during their visits to military units; asking nonmilitary organizations or individuals to provide money or commodities; irregularly giving gifts or souvenirs to nonmilitary organizations or individuals; offering housing, car or personnel to nonmilitary organizations or individuals; and using military assets to attract investment or publish advertisements.

Such activities have been common among some military units, leading to corruption and the risk of misconduct, observers said.

A sweeping anti-corruption campaign over the past several years has brought down more than 100 senior officers at the rank of major general or higher, including Guo Boxiong and Xu Caihou, both former vice-chairmen of the Central Military Commission.

The Chinese military also stopped all commercial activities before 2019 to eradicate the risk of corruption and focus all of its attention on combat training.