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Speakers:

Ma Feixiong, vice minister of veterans affairs

Liang Jingge, director general of the Department of Ideology and Rights Protection, Ministry of Veterans Affairs (MVA)

Yu Jingsen, director general of the Department of Employment and Entrepreneurship,MVA

Cao Jun, director general of the Department of Support and Preferential Treatment, MVA

Li Jingxian, official of the Department of Commendation and Commemoration, MVA

Chairperson:

Chen Wenjun, spokesperson of the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC)

Date:

Aug. 26, 2022

Chen Wenjun:

Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. Welcome to this press conference held by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee. Today, we are holding the 25th press conference under the theme of “China in the past decade.” We have invited Mr. Ma Feixiong, vice minister of veterans affairs, to brief you on the measures and achievements of veterans affairs in the new era. Also joining us today are Mr. Liang Jingge, director general of the Department of Ideology and Rights Protection, Ministry of Veterans Affairs (MVA); Mr. Yu Jingsen, director general of the Department of Employment and Entrepreneurship, MVA; Mr. Cao Jun, director general of the Department of Support and Preferential Treatment, MVA; and Mr. Li Jingxian, an official from the Department of Commendation and Commemoration, MVA. They will take your questions.

Now, let's give the floor to Mr. Ma Feixiong for his introduction.

Ma Feixiong:

Ladies and gentlemen, friends from the press, good morning. Welcome to this press conference. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to you for your interest in and support for the developments in veterans affairs.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress , the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has attached great importance to veterans affairs. General Secretary Xi Jinping, keeping in mind the overall cause of the Party and the country, has personally devised the establishment of a veterans administration and support institution, and made a series of important statements on veterans affairs, pointed out the direction and provided fundamental guidance for dealing with veterans affairs in the new era. The 19th CPC National Congress made the major decision to establish an administration and support institution for veterans. On April 16, 2018, the MVA was officially established. For more than four years, we have committed ourselves to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and thoroughly implemented General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions on veterans affairs. We have constantly tried to develop a deep understanding of the decisive significance of the establishment of both Comrade Xi Jinping's core position on the CPC Central Committee and in the Party as a whole and the guiding role of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. We have always been increasing our consciousness of the need to maintain political integrity, think in big-picture terms, follow the leadership core and keep in alignment with the central Party leadership. We have remained confident in the path, the theory, the system, and the culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and consistently upheld Comrade Xi Jinping's core position on the CPC Central Committee and in the Party as a whole and upheld the Central Committee's authority and its centralized, unified leadership. We have resolutely implemented the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, and improved and firmly implemented policies and mechanisms to ensure that the military profession and veterans are respected by the whole of society. As a result, new developments have been secured in veterans affairs, and veterans' sense of gain, happiness and honor has been continuously enhanced.

First, the Party's leadership has been strengthened across the board. The central government has introduced opinions on improving the administration of veterans affairs in the new era and a plan featuring policies and systems for reforming veterans affairs, and issued the 14th Five-Year Plan for Services and Support for Veterans and the Opinions on Strengthening Commendation of Martyrs in the New Era , providing top-level design and institutional arrangements for veterans affairs in the new era. Party committees at and above the county level have all set up leading organs for veterans affairs, and the operating mechanisms have been improved, comprehensively enhancing the Party's leadership over veterans affairs. 

Second, various related systems have been established and improved. Administrative organizations for veterans affairs at and above the county level have been established across the country. There are now more than 600,000 veterans service centers and stations covering six levels from the state to the villages and communities. More than 4,000 relevant public institutions and over 700 social organizations have been transferred, taken charge of and set up. An organization and management system under the Party's leadership where administrative organs, service systems and private entities all make contributions has basically taken shape. We have established and improved the mechanism for the military and civilians to work together as one office while maintaining their separate identities, and promoted the inclusion of veterans affairs into the assessment of local Party and government officials. The working system of military and civilian coordination and cooperation has been gradually improved. China's first special law regarding veterans, The Veterans Law, came into force on Jan. 1, 2021, introducing hundreds of supporting policies covering such fields as ideology, resettlement and employment, preferential treatment and commendation, and service guarantee. A policy and institution system that both respects veterans and guarantees services and management for them has been basically formed.

Ma Feixiong:

Third, notable achievements have been secured in resettlement and employment of veterans. We have deepened the reform of the veterans resettlement system, innovatively organized direct and targeted resettlement of military officers transferred to civilian jobs, and improved the mechanism for fair and transparent resettlement, constantly improving the quality of resettlement. Over the past four-plus years, more than 1.85 million veterans have been resettled, and more than 80% of demobilized military officers have landed a job in Party and government organs and public institutions administered according to civil servants' standards. We have established a system for veterans to receive monthly demobilization payments, implemented the mechanism of immediate resettlement upon demobilization, and accelerated the resettlement of retired military personnel as well as military personnel with injuries, diseases and disabilities. In order to secure more adequate and high-quality employment for veterans, policy documents including the Opinions on Encouraging Outstanding Veterans to Teach in Primary and Secondary Schools have been issued, helping 2.26 million veterans find jobs and start their own businesses.

Fourth, services have been continuously guaranteed and improved. Subsidies and living allowances for entitled groups have been raised year after year. Unified supplementary payment of basic old-age insurance has been organized for some veterans, with 2.85 million veterans benefiting from the policy. Supplementary payment of medical insurance is now processed regularly. Basic information on veterans and other entitled groups nationwide has been collected and registration is completed on a regular basis. The application and issuance of preferential treatment cards for veterans and other entitled groups has been comprehensively launched. Universities for retired military officers have been established, and online platforms providing convenient services for them have been put into place. A new occupation of “veterans affairs officer” has been created to improve professional services. Campaigns have been launched and funds supporting veterans have been deployed to help veterans address their problems and difficulties.

Fifth, we have built an environment where the public values retired soldiers' contributions. We have held the National Conference on the Work of Veteran Affairs and ceremonies that honor cities, organizations, and individuals for their outstanding contributions to veteran affairs. General Secretary Xi Jinping met with representatives on those occasions twice, which greatly motivated the veterans and those working in veteran affairs. We extensively promoted the stories of model veterans like Zhang Fuqing, organized a series of activities to encourage veterans to follow the Party's leadership, and created the veteran-themed drama "Heart of a Soldier." Moreover, we organized a campaign for the public to learn from outstanding veterans and individuals who gave immense support to the military. We have consolidated the common consensus that retired soldiers and military personnel are respected, and their contributions are valued by establishing and improving the systematic routine. Our work includes holding farewell activities for recruits when they leave for the army, decorating a plate of glory in the family with military personnel, sending congratulatory letters to the family of a soldier who is rewarded in the army, and holding welcome activities for military personnel after service in their hometowns. We also include the names of the soldiers and their contributions to the local chronicles. Since 2014, China has brought back the remains of 825 Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV) martyrs from the Republic of Korea (ROK) in over eight consecutive years. We have carried out activities to encourage government and public support for the military and preferential treatment for families of service personnel and martyrs in the border and coastal defense forces. We have made changes to the military-civilian dual list system to make administrative procedures easier and consolidate the unity of the military, the government, and the people. 

These achievements are attributed to the outstanding leadership of the CPC Central Committee and the whole Party with General Secretary Xi Jinping at its core and the science-based guidelines of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. Looking forward, we will continue to follow Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, bear in mind the country's most fundamental interests, and stay true to our founding mission. We will focus on serving socio-economic development, national defense, and military building and write a new chapter for the high-quality development of work related to veteran affairs. We will strive to provide better services for retired military personnel and other entitled groups. This will pave the way for a successful 20th National Party Congress.

This is the end of my introduction. Next, my colleagues and I would like to answer your questions. Thank you.