(Adopted at the Second Session of the Sixth National People's Congress on May 31 and promulgated by Order No.14 of the President of the People’s Republic of China on May 31, 1984; amended in accordance with the Decision on Revising the Military Service Law of the People's Republic of China adopted at the 6th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress on December 29, 1998)

Contents

Chapter I General Provisions

Chapter II Enlistment in Peacetime

Chapter III Active Service and Reserve Service of Soldiers

Chapter IV Active Service and Reserve Service of Officers

Chapter V Cadets Enrolled by Military Institutes and Academies from Among Student Youths

Chapter VI The Militia

Chapter VII Military Training for Reservists

Chapter VIII Military Training for Students of Institutions of Higher Learning and Students of Senior Middle Schools

Chapter IX Mobilization of Troops in Wartime

Chapter X Preferential Treatment for Active Servicemen and Placement of Ex-servicemen

Chapter XI Punishments

Chapter XII Supplementary Provisions

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 This Law is enacted pursuant to Article 55 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China which stipulates, " it is the sacred duty of every citizen of the People's Republic of China to defend the motherland and resist aggression. It is the honourable duty of citizens of the People's Republic of China to perform military service and join the militia in accordance with the law," and in accordance with other relevant provisions of the Constitution.

Article 2 The People's Republic of China practises a military service system which combines conscripts with volunteers and a militia with a reserve service.

Article 3 All citizens of the People's Republic of China, regardless of ethnic status, race, occupation, family background, religious belief and education, have the obligation to perform military service according to the provisions of this Law.

Exemptions from military service shall be granted to persons unfit for it owing to serious physical defects or serious deformities.

Persons deprived of political rights by law may not perform military service.

Article 4 The armed forces of the People's Republic of China shall be composed of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, the Chinese People's Armed Police Force and the Militia.

Article 5 The military service shall comprise an active service and a reserve service. Those serving in the Chinese People's Liberation Army are active servicemen while those regimented into militia organizations or registered in the reserve service are reservists.

Article 6 The active servicemen and reservists must abide by the Constitution and the law, and shall perform their duties and at the same time enjoy their rights as citizens; their rights and duties resulting from their joining the military service shall be specified separately in military regulations in addition to the provisions of this Law.

Article 7 Active servicemen must abide by the rules and regulations of the army, faithfully discharge their duties and always be ready to fight for the defence of the motherland.

Reservists must participate in military training according to the regulations and always be ready to join the army and take part in war for the defence of the motherland.

Article 8 Medals, decorations or titles of honour shall be given to active servicemen and reservists who perform meritorious deeds.

Article 9 The People's Liberation Army shall practise a system of military ranks.

Article 10 Responsibility for military service work throughout the country shall be assumed by the Ministry of National Defence under the leadership of the State Council and the Central Military Commission.

The military commands shall be responsible for military service work within their respective areas as assigned by the Ministry of National Defence.

The provincial commands (garrison commands), sub-commands (garrison commands) and the departments of people's armed forces of counties, autonomous counties, cities and municipal districts shall concurrently act as the military service organs of the people's governments at corresponding levels and shall be responsible for military service work in their respective areas under the leadership of military organs at higher levels and the people's governments at corresponding levels.

Chapter II Enlistment in Peacetime

Article 11 The number of citizens to be enlisted for active service each year, the requirements for them to be enlisted and the time schedule for enlistment shall be prescribed by order of the State Council and the Central Military Commission.

Article 12 Each year, male citizens who have reached 18 years of age by December 31 shall be enlisted for active service. Those who are not enlisted during the year shall remain eligible for active service until they are 22.

To meet the needs of the armed forces, female citizens may be enlisted for active service according to the provision of the preceding paragraph.

To meet the needs of the armed forces and on the principle of voluntary participation, male and female citizens who have not yet reached 18 years of age by December 31 of a certain year may be enlisted for active service.

Article 13 Each year, male citizens who will be 18 years old by December 31 shall be registered for military service by September 30 according to the arrangements of the military service organs of counties, autonomous counties, cities or municipal districts. Those who have registered and have passed the preliminary examination are called citizens eligible for enlistment.

Article 14 During the period of enlistment, citizens eligible for enlistment shall, upon notification by the military service organs of counties, autonomous counties, cities or municipal districts, go to the designated health centres in time for physical examination.

Citizens eligible for enlistment who are qualified for active service shall be enlisted for such service upon approval by the military service organs of counties, autonomous counties, cities or municipal districts.

Article 15 The enlistment of a citizen eligible for enlistment may be deferred if he is the only worker in his family providing its means of subsistence or if he is a student in a full-time school.

Article 16 A citizen eligible for enlistment shall not be enlisted if he is detained for investigation, prosecution or trial, or if he has been sentenced to imprisonment, criminal detention or public surveillance and is serving his sentence.

Chapter III Active Service and Reserve Service of Soldiers

Article 17 There shall be two types of soldiers: conscripts and volunteers.

Article 18 The term of active service for a conscript is two years.

Article 19 Upon the expiration of his term of active service, a conscript may, according to need of the armed forces and on the basis of his own free will, change to a volunteer with approval by a unit at or above the regimental level.

A system of active service for different terms shall be instituted for volunteers. The term of active service for a volunteer shall, counting from the day when he changes to a volunteer, be no less than three years but generally not more than thirty years, up to the age of 55.

Volunteers may, according to need of the armed forces, be recruited directly from among citizens with professional skills in non-military departments. Specific measures in this regard shall be formulated by the State Council and the Central Military Commission.

Article 20 A soldier shall be discharged from active service upon the expiration of his term of active service. Those who have to be discharged from active service because of a reduction in the personnel of the armed forces, a condition of health unfit for continued service as diagnosed and certified by a hospital of the armed forces or other special reasons may be discharged before the expiration of their terms of active service upon approval by a division headquarters or a higher organ.

Article 21 A soldier who is discharged from active service but is qualified for reserve service shall be assigned by his army unit to serve in the soldiers' reserve; a soldier who is considered after assessment to be fit for the post of an officer shall serve in the officers' reserve.

A soldier who is discharged from active service and assigned by his army unit to serve in the reserve shall, within thirty days of returning to his place of residence, register for reserve service with the local military service organ of the county, autonomous county, city or municipal district.

Article 22 Citizens eligible for enlistment who have registered for military service according to the provisions of Article 13 of this Law but have not been enlisted for active service shall serve in the soldiers' reserve.

Article 23 Persons serving in the soldiers' reserve shall be between the ages of 18 and 35.

Article 24 Persons in the soldiers' reserve shall be divided into two categories:

Category One of persons in the soldiers' reserve shall include:

(1) soldiers at or under the age of 35 who have been discharged from active service and have registered for the soldier's reserve;

(2) civilian technicians at or under the age of 35 who have registered for the soldiers' reserve and whose specialities fit in with those of the military; and

(3) other reserve soldiers at or under the age of 28 who have been regimented into the reserve forces or pre-regimented into active forces.

Category Two of persons in the soldiers' reserve shall include:

(1) persons regimented into militia organizations other than those included in Category One of persons in the soldiers' reserve; and

(2) other male citizens at or under the age of 35 who have registered for the soldiers' reserve.

Persons listed in sub-paragraph (3) under Category One of persons in the soldiers' reserve in this Article shall be transferred to Category Two at the age of 29; reserve soldiers shall be discharged from reserve service at the age of 35.

Chapter IV Active Service and Reserve Service of Officers

Article 25 Officers in active service shall be replenished with the following persons:

(1) graduates of military institutes and academies;

(2) soldiers who have been trained at officers' training centres established with the approval of the Central Military Commission and who are considered after assessment to be fit for officers' posts;

(3) graduates of institutions of higher learning and secondary technical schools who are fit for officers' posts; and

(4) civilian cadres of the armed forces and professional and technical persons recruited individually from non-military departments.

In wartime, officers in active service shall also be replenished with the following persons:

(1) soldiers who can be appointed directly as officers; and

(2)reserve officers called into active service and cadres of non-military departments fit for active service.

Article 26 Officers in reserve service shall consist of the following:

(1) officers who have been discharged from active service and transferred to reserve service;

(2) soldiers who have been discharged from active service and assigned to serve in the officers' reserve;

(3) graduates of institutions of higher learning assigned to serve in the officers' reserve;

(4) full-time cadres of the departments of people's armed forces and cadres of the militia assigned to serve in the officers' reserve; and

(5) cadres and professional and technical persons of non-military departments assigned to serve in the officers' reserve.

Article 27 The maximum age for officers in active and reserve services shall be stipulated in the Regulations of the Chinese People's Liberation Army on the Military Service of Officers.

Article 28 Officers in active service who have attained the maximum age stipulated for such service shall be discharged from active service; those who have not attained the maximum age but have to be discharged from active service for special reasons may be discharged from such service with approval.

Officers discharged from active service may be transferred to the officers' reserve if they are qualified to serve in it.

Article 29 Officers who have been discharged from active service and transferred to reserve service, soldiers who have been discharged from active service and assigned to serve in the officers' reserve and graduates of institutions of higher learning assigned to serve in the officers' reserve shall, within 30 days of their arrival at their places of work or residence, register for reserve service with the local military service organs of the counties, autonomous counties, cities or municipal districts.

Full-time cadres of the departments of people's armed forces, cadres of the militia, and cadres and professional and technical persons of non-military departments fit for officers' posts shall serve in the officers' reserve through registration with the military service organs of counties, autonomous counties, cities or municipal districts and upon approval by military organs at a higher level.

Reserve officers who have attained the maximum age stipulated for reserve service shall be discharged from such service.

Chapter V Cadets Enrolled by Military Institutes and Academies from Among Student Youths

Article 30 Military institutes and academies may, according to needs in building up the armed forces, enroll cadets from among student youths. The age limit for the cadets to be enrolled need not be subject to that for the active servicemen to be enlisted.

Article 31 A cadet who has completed his studies and passed the examinations shall be given a diploma by the institute or academy and shall be appointed officer or civilian cadre in active service according to relevant regulations.

Article 32 A cadet who has completed the required courses but has failed in the examinations shall be given a certificate of his completion of the courses by the institute or academy and return to the place of his residence where he was enrolled, and shall be placed by the people's government of the county, autonomous county, city or municipal district according to the regulations of the State on the placement for those who have completed their studies at other colleges and schools of similar levels.

Article 33 A cadet who is unfit for continuing his studies at a military institute or academy due to his suffering from chronic diseases or other reasons and is thus approved to leave school shall be given a certificate by the institute or academy of the amount of academic work he has done and shall be accepted for placement by the people's governments of the county, autonomous county, city or municipal district at the place of his residence where he was enrolled.

Article 34 A cadet dismissed from school shall be accepted by the people's government of the county, autonomous county, city or municipal district at the place of his residence where he was enrolled, and shall be treated according to the regulations of the State on the treatment of students dismissed from other colleges or schools of similar levels.

Article 35 The provisions of Articles 31, 32, 33 and 34 of this Law shall also apply to cadets enrolled from among soldiers in active service.