Order of the President of the People's Republic of China

No. 63

The Veterans Law of the People's Republic of China has been adopted at the 23rd Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Thirteenth National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China on November 11, 2020, and is hereby promulgated and shall come into force on January 1, 2021.

　　                                  Xi Jinping

                     President of the People's Republic of China

　                               November 11, 2020 

Veterans Law of the People's Republic of China

(Adopted at the 23rd Meeting of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress on November 11, 2020)

Contents

Chapter I General Provisions

Chapter II Transfer and Acceptance 

Chapter III Resettlement

Chapter IV Education and Training

Chapter V Employment and Business-Starting

Chapter VI Consolation Compensation and Preferential Treatment

Chapter VII Commendations and Incentives

Chapter VIII Services and Management

Chapter IX Legal Liability

Chapter X Supplementary Provisions

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 This Law is hereby enacted under the Constitution for the purpose of strengthening the protection of veterans affairs, safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of veterans, and ensuring that the military service stays well respected throughout society.

Article 2 Veterans, for the purpose of this Law, are former officers, non-commissioned officers, conscripts, or other members of the Chinese People's Liberation Army who have been discharged from active duty, unless dishonorably, in accordance with the law.

Article 3 Veterans, recognized as having made important contributions to the development of national defense and the military, are an important force in socialist modernization.

Extending respect and care to veterans is a shared responsibility for society as a whole. The state provides care and preferential treatment for veterans, strengthens the mechanism for their support, and safeguards the corresponding rights and interests thereof in accordance with the law.

Article 4 The work on veterans shall fall under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, reflect the policy of facilitating economic and social development, as well as the development of national defense and the military, and follow the principles of people orientation, categorical support, service prioritization, and law-based management.

Article 5 The work on veterans shall be coordinated with economic development and social progress.

Resettlement of veterans shall be open, fair and just.

The treatment concerning politics, livelihood, among other veterans affairs shall be based on the contributions of the veterans during their active service in the military.

The state establishes a special preferential treatment mechanism for war veterans.

Article 6 Veterans shall continue to carry forward the good traditions of the people's army, be exemplarily compliant with the Constitution, laws and regulations, keep military secrets, put the Core Socialist Values into practice, and play an active role in socialist modernization.

Article 7 The competent department for the work on veterans of the State Council is responsible for the national work on veterans. The departments for the work on veterans of local people's governments at or above the county level are responsible for the work on veterans within their respective administrative regions.

Relevant central Party and government organs, relevant departments of the Central Military Commission, and relevant local Party and government organs at all levels shall fulfill their due responsibilities regarding the work on veterans.

Departments in the military at all levels responsible for veterans-related work and the competent departments for the work on veterans of the people's governments at or above the county level shall make concerted efforts in the work on veterans.

Article 8 The state strengthens the IT application in the work on veterans, has veterans registered, ensures veterans information-sharing among relevant departments, and provides support for improving capacity for veterans aid.

The competent department for the work on veterans of the State Council shall work closely with the relevant central Party and government organs and relevant departments of the Central Military Commission to coordinate the construction, maintenance, and application of information and data systems, as well as information security management, among others.

Article 9 The expenditures needed for the work on veterans shall be covered jointly by the central and local governments. Resettlement, education, training, and benefits shall be mainly funded by the central government.

Article 10 The state encourages enterprises, social organizations, individuals and other forces of society to provide support and help for veterans through donations, foundations, volunteer services, among others, in accordance with the law, and guides them in the said work.

Article 11 Entities and individuals that have made outstanding contributions to the work on veterans shall be commended and awarded in line with applicable regulations of the state.

Chapter II Transfer and Acceptance 

Article 12 The competent department for the work on veterans of the State Council, the Central Military Commission's political work department, and relevant central Party and government organs shall make annual plans for the transfer and acceptance of veterans.

Article 13 Veterans' former military units shall transfer the veterans to the competent departments for the work on veterans of the people's governments at the places of resettlement, and the competent departments thereof are responsible for accepting the veterans.

Places of resettlement of veterans shall be determined in accordance with relevant regulations of the state.

Article 14 Veterans shall, within the prescribed time, register in the competent departments for the work on veterans of the people's governments at the places of resettlement with the discharge certificates issued by the military.

Article 15 The competent departments for the work on veterans of the people's governments at the places of resettlement shall issue preferential treatment cards to the veterans upon acceptance.

Preferential treatment cards for veterans shall be made, numbered and issued in a unified way nationwide, and the regulations on their management and utilization shall be formulated by the competent department for the work on veterans of the State Council in consultation with the relevant departments.

Article 16 Where servicepersons are discharged, their military units shall transfer their personnel files to the competent departments of the people's governments at the places of resettlement in a timely fashion.

The abovementioned departments shall, in line with applicable regulations of the state on management of personnel files, accept and keep such files before transferring them to the relevant entities.

Article 17 The public security organs of the people's governments at the places of resettlement shall, in line with applicable regulations of the state, process the household registration of veterans in a timely fashion. The competent departments for the work on veterans at the same levels shall provide assistance.

Article 18 Veterans' former military units shall, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, transfer to the social insurance agencies in a timely manner the old-age insurance, medical insurance and other social insurance schemes of the veterans and their unemployed spouses who were resettled with them during their active service, together with the corresponding funds.

The competent departments for the work on veterans of the people's governments at the places of resettlement shall work closely with the social insurance agencies and the relevant departments in the military to facilitate the transfer of social insurance schemes and the corresponding funds in accordance with the law.

Article 19 Where issues occur in the process of transfer and acceptance of veterans, those issues pertaining to the active service of the veterans shall be handled by their former military units, the resettlement-related issues by the people's governments at the places of resettlement, and issues concerning their transfer or acceptance by the people's governments at the places of resettlement with the cooperation of the veterans' former military units.

Where the former military units of veterans are abolished, or where the units are transferred to or merged with other units, the said issues shall be handled by the higher-level units of those former military units or the units which those former units are transferred to or merged with according to the the preceding paragraph.

Chapter III Resettlement

Article 20 Local people's governments at all levels shall, in keeping with the plans of transfer and acceptance of veterans, honor their responsibilities and fulfill the mission of veterans resettlement.

Party and government organs, people's organizations, enterprises, public institutions, and social organizations shall accept and resettle veterans in accordance with the law, and veterans shall accept such resettlement.

Article 21 In respect of former officers who have been discharged under conditions other than dishonorable, the state adopts resettlement methods such as retirement, transfer to civilian services, monthly pensions, and demobilization.

Where retirement is used for resettlement and the said officers are transferred to the people's governments at the places of resettlement, the said governments shall, based on both government guarantee and commercial services, put services and management in place, and guarantee the treatment of those officers.

In respect of those officers to be resettled by transfer to civilian services, the people's governments at the places of resettlement shall provide jobs for them and determine their positions and ranks according to their moral integrity, professional competence as well as their former positions, ranks, contributions, and specializations while on active duty in the military, as well as the needs of the proposed job positions.

Those officers who have served on active duty for a prescribed period of time and are to be resettled in the form of monthly pensions shall receive such pensions on a monthly basis in line with applicable regulations of the state.

Where demobilization is used for resettlement of those officers, the said officers shall receive demobilization pay in line with applicable regulations of the state.

Article 22 In respect of former non-commissioned officers who have been discharged under conditions other than dishonorable, the state adopts resettlement methods such as monthly pensions, employment based on individual initiative, employment based on job placement, retirement, as well as government support.

Those officers who have served on active duty for a prescribed period of time and are to be resettled in the form of monthly pensions shall receive such pensions on a monthly basis as stipulated by applicable regulations of the state.

Those officers who have served on active duty shorter than the prescribed period of enlistment and are to be resettled through employment based on individual initiative shall receive a lump-sum severance payment.