“First, we must keep in mind that the military must unswervingly adhere to the Party’s absolute leadership and obey the Party’s orders. Second, being able to fight and win a war [is] absolutely necessary for a strong military. Third, the PLA must maintain its discipline. The military must be governed strictly according to laws.”
[1]
Modern military forces the world over are usually governed by a body of national military law that is intended to promote and maintain a high level of military discipline among those who are charged with the responsibility of the national defence. A large and growing English-language literature explores these national laws of many countries around the world, with the curious exception of the People’s Republic of China – and this, despite the size of China’s armed forces and the rising influence of the state (and Party) they serve. Such scholarly attention as the subject has garnered has focussed on the operation of Chinese military courts, with scant attention paid to the role of law in the maintenance of military discipline at the unit (danwei) level. In China, the Regulations on Discipline of the Chinese PLA is one of the key instruments for maintaining discipline at the unit level within the PLA. Discipline regulations were first instituted in the PLA in 1951 replacing the venerable Three Main Rules of Discipline and Eight Points for Attention that were the earliest formal rules applied from 1928 in the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army, the forerunner of the PLA. The Regulations have been modified or supplanted on several occasions since, and the most recent iteration was adopted by the Central Military Commission in May of 2010, coming into force the following month. The current version of the Regulations on Discipline has not previously appeared in English translation, but excerpts are now available
[here] on the website of China Law Translate.
The Regulations consist of 179 Articles divided into seven chapters dealing, in Chapter II, with rewards such as medals and commendations, and in Chapter III with punishment. (The formal application of both rewards and punishments in the maintenance of military discipline in China predates the empire. The civil reforms of
Lord Shang in the pre-Imperial state of Qin introduced a system of rewards and punishments that became a hallmark of Qin military discipline, and was continued in the army of the new empire after 221 BCE.) The remaining chapters deal with introductory matters (Chapter I), special measures (Chapter IV), complaints and appeals (Chapter V), the duties of leading cadres and discipline inspection (Chapter VI) and supplementary provisions (Chapter VII).
The Regulations apply to all officers, civilian cadres, non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the PLA, as well as to reservists when engaged in hostilities. They also apply to cadets attending military academic institutions and to members of the People’s Armed Police Force, the branch of China’s armed forces with particular responsibility for internal security.