What's the purpose of the People's Liberation Army?

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in his recent speech at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library, negated every aspect of China-US relations, maliciously attacked the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and China's political system, and attempted to drive a wedge between the CPC and the Chinese people. He also wantonly criticized China's domestic and foreign policies, spread the so-called "China threat", and called for an anti-China alliance to contain China's development.

Pompeo's baseless, fact-distorting speech misrepresents history and the reality. It is full of ideological prejudice and driven by a Cold-War mentality. His remarks have not only been condemned by the Chinese people, but also criticized and opposed by sensible people in the United States as well as the international community.

To debunk the lies fabricated by Pompeo, let the facts speak for themselves.

Rumor:

Mike Pompeo: The purpose of the People's Liberation Army isn't to protect the Chinese people.

Fact:

The PLA is the people's army that loves and serves the people. Chinese President Xi Jinping pointed out that our army is the people's army, and our national defense is the national defense of all the people. The PLA has always born in mind its fundamental purpose of serving the people wholeheartedly by keeping the people in mind, always standing with the people and fighting for them forever. Whether it is earthquake relief, flood emergency rescue, or fight against the epidemic, the people's army has always been in the forefront, fighting day and night, to protect the people's lives and property without hesitation. The closely linked relationship between the army and the people, likened to that of fish and water, is an inherent feature of the PLA.

-- Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the PLA has resolutely implemented the decisions and plans made by the CPC Central Committee, the Central Military Commission and President Xi Jinping, by acting on orders, bravely shouldering heavy burdens, daring to fight hard battles, racing against time and fighting against the diseases. Over 450 medics from medical universities of the army, navy and air force of the PLA rushed to Wuhan, the hard-hit city in central China's Hubei Province, and over 10,000 medics of the PLA devoted themselves to fighting the epidemic and protecting the people's lives and health. They have played an important role in and made outstanding contributions to the epidemic prevention and control.

-- Since June, floods have hit some provinces in southern China. The PLA and the People's Armed Police Force have dispatched 29,000 officers and soldiers to the frontline to fight floods, building dams, rescuing the trapped and resettling the affected. They act as a commando at the critical moment, safeguarding the people's lives and property.

-- The PLA takes participating in poverty alleviation as a major political task, and shares the CPC's concerns, serves the country's interests and brings benefits to the people with a strong sense of responsibility. By the end of May, 4,100 poor villages, 293,000 poor households and 924,000 poor people that the PLA targeted to help had all been lifted out of poverty. The PLA's achievements in poverty alleviation is a demonstration of "the people's army loves the people" in the new era.