People's Armed Forces Department
People's Armed Forces Department (PAFD; Chinese: 人民武装部; pinyin: Rénmín wǔzhuāng bù) is a type of military department in China that are run by the People's Liberation Army (PLA). PAFDs have been established at the county and township administrative levels and in other large organizations such as state-owned enterprises and schools.
History
[edit]Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, People's Armed Forces Departments were established at the county and village level, focusing on recruitment and management of militia.[1] Activities of PAFD units decreased significantly under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping.[2]
Functions
[edit]PAFDs are responsible for recruiting personnel for all the armed forces, and recruitment, organization and leadership of local militias. They also manage local light weapons warehouses. PAFD and militia units serve an auxiliary role by helping during natural disasters and emergencies, as well doing propaganda and defense education activities.[2] The People's Armed Forces Departments in border counties may also lead active PLA units such as border defense battalions and border defense companies. The PAFDs have a strong reserve wartime mobilization structure. In wartime, the People's Armed Forces Departments distributed in various places, organizations, and institutions would become the contact and command points for war mobilization on the spot. The county-level People's Armed Forces Department is also one of the six major teams of local administration.[3]
Multiple schools, universities, and state-owned enterprises have established internal People's Armed Forces Departments.[4][5][6] The internal units are expected "to work together with grassroots organizations to collect intelligence and information, dissolve and/or eliminate security concerns at the budding stage," according to the People's Liberation Army Daily.[5] PAFD units are staffed by military and civilian employees from local governments.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ White, Edward (2024-02-20). "Chinese companies revive Mao Zedong-era militias". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 2025-05-16. Retrieved 2025-07-15.
- ^ a b c Zheng, Cindy; Heath, Timothy (April 26, 2024). "China's People's Armed Forces Departments: Developments Under Xi Jinping". China Brief. Jamestown Foundation. Archived from the original on 2025-07-09. Retrieved 2025-07-15.
- ^ "搞好评选 争先创优" ["Do a good job in selection and strive for excellence"] (in Simplified Chinese). 上海市: Shanghai University. September 1994. ISSN 1674-2354. Archived from the original on 2020-12-12.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ "Big Chinese state-owned enterprises setting up army-linked militias". Radio Free Asia. October 3, 2023. Archived from the original on 2023-10-06. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
- ^ a b Liu, Natalie (2023-11-07). "Why is China Highlighting Militias in State Owned Enterprises?". Voice of America. Archived from the original on 9 November 2023. Retrieved 2023-11-09.
According to Chinese media, units have been established this year in at least 23 SOEs nationwide, nine of them in Wuhan.
- ^ He, Laura (2024-02-21). "Major companies in China are setting up their own volunteer armies". CNN. Archived from the original on 22 February 2024. Retrieved 2024-02-22.