CHINA-INTERNAL: PLA/ABOLISHING OF COMMERCIAL VENTURES

 The Phoenix Weekly, state-run Global Times and official Xinhua on May 5, 2016, reported that China's Central Military Commission is planning to gradually terminate all the military's commercial activities. Seen as the toughest move against military commercialization in China's history, they said this new step will put an end to a practice that has existed for three decades, has long been a hotbed for corruption and has led to many top generals falling in disgrace due to dodgy real estate deals in recent years. The Xinhua News Agency reported that according to the document, military units will no longer be allowed to launch new commercial programs or sign new contracts regarding paid services, and expired contracts may not be extended. An officer from the Beijing Military Region, who declined to be named, told Phoenix Weekly that this is expected to be the toughest ban on the military's commercial dealings to date. "The duty of the army is getting ready for wars. How can they battle if they are shooting on the training ground, and at the same time calculating how much money they can make from a contract they just signed?" The reports added that though never publicly verified, according to an estimate conducted in the late 1990s, there were over 15,000 PLA-run companies generating billions of yuan each year at that time. The PLA Property Management Regulations, issued in 2000, which said compensatory transfer of land use rights is allowed as long as it is approved by PLA's General Logistics Department and the 1995 regulation that allows PLA units to form partnerships with local governments and build real estate projects together on PLA-owned land were identified as loopholes that had prevented PLA-run commercial enterprises from being abolished. The reports disclosed that the military started a comprehensive census of military-owned infrastructure and properties in March 2013 and that in 2014, a new regulation was released to overhaul the land lease approval process. In 2014 you wouldn't have the chance to browse Target ads easily. 

 






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