CHINA-PEOPLE'S ARMED POLICE FORCE (PAPF) NOW UNDER CMC

China's official news agency Xinhua reported on December 27, 2017 that the 1.5 million strong People’s Armed Police Force (PAPF) will be brought under the direct control of the Central Military Commission with effect from January 1, 2018. A commentary in the People’s Daily on December 28, 2017 said the move was needed to ensure security and promote the aim of having a “strong military”. The People's Daily clarified that the PAPF, paramilitary police force, will remain separate, carry out its existing functions and not be absorbed into the PLA. Hong Kong-based China watcher Johnny Lau Yui-siu observed “The main reason to move the armed police directly under the CMC is to put all China’s military power in Xi’s hands.” Zeng Zhiping, a military expert at the Nanchang Institute of Technology in Jiangxi, said “The constitution says China’s military commission is in charge of all the country’s military, so putting the armed police under the CMC’s control helps to get the basics right to start with, but it will also improve the division of labour in the military.”

(Comment: With this decision, Xi Jinping now directly controls the PLA, PAPF and China's security apparatus. The PAPF has a major role in quelling disturbances in Xinjiang and Tibet in addition to border defence and firefighting. Xi Jinping in 2014 effected a leadership reshuffle in the PAPF when he brought in PLA officers as its Commander and Political Commissar. Wang Ning, a close long-time associate of Xi Jinping was appointed PAPF Commander.)  






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