Veterans to start getting allowance every month

Qualified veterans on the Chinese mainland will soon start receiving a monthly living allowance, according to a new regulation published by central authorities.

The Regulation on Veterans' Monthly Allowance was jointly issued on Tuesday by 11 agencies of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, Central Military Commission and central government, including the education and public security ministries as well as the CMC Political Work Department.

The Ministry of Veterans Affairs said in a statement that the regulation specifies criteria for veterans eligible for the allowance, retirement options, distribution channels and adjustments of the allowance, regional subsidiaries and elderly and healthcare.

It is intended to help veterans better adapt themselves to civilian life, enable them to make the best use of their knowledge and skills, and improve the veterans treatment system, according to the statement.

The regulation, which took effect on Dec 24, is important to socioeconomic and military development and will boost the attractiveness and competitiveness of military careers, the ministry said.

A retired officer who served in the People's Liberation Army Navy who wished to be identified as Tian said on Wednesday that he and his fellow veterans welcome the regulation not only because of the allowance, but also because it will help to clarify veterans' retirement treatment measures, which had been unclear and impractical in some places.

China has created a host of measures over the past four years to improve benefits for veterans and military members' families.

In March 2018, the Ministry of Veterans Affairs was established, and the National Veterans Service Center was set up the following February. Since then, veteran service centers or stations have been established at every administrative level, from community to provincial.

Guidelines listed in a document published by the government in January 2020 cover almost all elements of daily life, ranging from medical care, housing and education to transportation and leisure activities.

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, more than 58 million military personnel have reentered civilian life, according to official statistics.