RESERVE OFFICERS LAW

CHAPTER II SOURCES AND SELECTION OF RESERVE OFFICERS

CHAPTER IV MILITARY RANKS FOR RESERVE OFFICERS

CHAPTER VI TRAINING OF RESERVE OFFICERS

CHAPTER VIII RETIREMENT OF RESERVE OFFICERS

CHAPTER X SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS

   Article 1 This Law is enacted in accordance with the Constitution and the Military Service Law for the purpose of establishing a sound system
of reserve officers, improving the mobilization system of the armed forces of the State, and strengthening the reserve forces for
national defence.

   Article 2 The term “reserve officers” as used in this Law refers to the reservists who have been assigned reserve post grades at or above the
level of platoon leader, or specialized technical post grades at or above the junior level, of the People’s Liberation Army, granted
corresponding military ranks for reserve officers, and registered with military service organs.

   Article 3 Reserve officers, by the nature of the posts they hold, shall be classified as operational officers, political officers, logistics
officers and specialized technical officers.

The reserve of officers, according to the needs of administration in peacetime and mobilization in wartime, comprises two classes:
Class One consists of reserve officers who hold posts in reserve components or are prelisted as officers for active components, and
Class Two is composed of all other reserve officers.

   Article 4 Under the leadership of the State Council and the Central Military Commission, the General Political Department of the People’s Liberation
Army shall be the competent authority for the administration of reserve officers throughout the country.

The political departments of the major military commands, provincial military commands (including garrison commands) and military
subcommands (including garrison commands) shall be responsible for the administration of reserve officers in their respective regions.

The people’s armed forces departments of the counties, autonomous counties, cities not divided into districts, and municipal districts
(hereinafter generally referred to as the people’s armed forces departments at the county level) shall be in charge of the specific
administration of reserve officers in their respective administrative regions.

   Article 5 The departments concerned under the State Council and the local people’s governments at various levels shall, in line with their
division of responsibilities and in compliance with the provisions of this Law and other pertinent laws and regulations, do well
the relevant work concerning the administration of reserve officers.

   Article 6 The units in which reserve officers work shall support the reserve officers in their participation in military training and performance
of military duties or other obligations of military service, and render assistance in the administration of reserve officers.

   Article 7 Reserve officers shall abide by the Constitution, laws and regulations as well as the relevant military rules and regulations, participate
in military training and military service activities, receive political education, enhance their organizing and commanding ability
and their technical proficiency, and be ready at all times to respond to the call-up for active service.

   Article 8 The State protects the legitimate rights and interests of reserve officers according to law.

Reserve officers shall enjoy such rights deriving from their reserve service as specified in this Law and such benefits and treatment
as prescribed by the State.

   Article 9 Reserve officers who have made outstanding contributions during their performance of military duties shall be awarded honourable
citations or citations for merit or conferred honourable post_titles in accordance with the relevant regulations of the Central Military
Commission.

Units which have made outstanding achievements in their work relating to reserve officers shall be commended or awarded in accordance
with the relevant regulations.

   Article 10 Reserve officers shall be selected from:

(1) officers and civilian cadres released from active service;

(2) soldiers released from active service;

(3) cadres engaged in the work concerning affairs of people’s armed forces and cadres of people’s militia;

(4) graduates from non-military institutions of higher learning; and

(5) other citizens who meet the basic requirements for reserve officers.

   Article 11 Reserve officers shall meet the following basic requirements:

(1) to be loyal to the motherland and to observe the Constitution, laws and regulations;

(2) to obey orders and commands;

(3) to meet the requirements for service age of reserve officers as specified in the present Law;

(4) to have been released from active service or have received military professional training and passed due examinations, possessing
the scientific and cultural knowledge and the organizing and commanding ability or the technical proficiency corresponding to their
posts; and

(5) to be in good health.

   Article 12 Plans for the selection of reserve officers shall be decided by the Central Military Commission and implemented by the General Political
Department of the People’s Liberation Army in conjunction with other departments concerned.

   Article 13 In regard to officers and civilian cadres released from active service to be selected as reserve officers as prescribed in Article
10 of this Law, the political departments of their military units at or above the regimental level shall raise proposals for transferring
them to the reserve of officers, upon the approval of which by the prescribed authorities, they shall make registration as reserve
officers with the people’s armed forces departments at the county level in the localities of their resettlement.

The selection of reserve officers from among persons other than those referred to in the preceding paragraph shall follow the procedures
set forth below:

(1) recommendation by the people’s armed forces departments at the basic level or by the work units in accordance with the plans issued
from higher authorities and the prescribed requirements;

(2) verification and determination by the people’s armed forces departments at the county level;

(3) training by the units undertaking such missions;

(4) examination and approval by the prescribed authorities; and

(5) registration with the people’s armed forces departments at the county level.

   Article 14 Post grades for operational, political and logistics reserve officers are: the level of division commander, the level of deputy division
commander, the level of regiment commander, the level of deputy regiment commander, the level of battalion commander, the level of
deputy battalion commander, the level of company commander, the level of deputy company commander, and the level of platoon leader.

Post grades for specialized technical reserve officers are: the senior level, the intermediate level and the junior level.

   Article 15 Post grades shall be determined for persons who have been assigned to serve in the reserve of officers.

The determination of post grades for persons who have been released from active service and transferred to the reserve of officers
shall be handled by the prescribed authorities as for officers in active service with corresponding post grades.

Post grades for persons who are other than those referred to in the preceding paragraph and who serve in the reserve of officers shall
be determined with the approval of the authorities prescribed below:

(1) post grades for officers at the level of division commander or deputy division commander, or for specialized technical officers
at the senior level shall be determined with the approval of the heads of units at the level of major military command;

(2) post grades for officers at the level of regiment commander or deputy regiment commander, of for specialized technical officers
at the intermediate level shall be determined with the approval of the heads of units at the corps level that have the power to appoint
and remove officers; and

(3) post grades for officers at the level of battalion commander or below, or for specialized technical officers at the junior level
shall be determined with the approval of the heads of units at the divisional level that have the power to appoint and remove officers.

   Article 16 Reserve officers who hold posts in reserve components or are pre-listed as officers for active components, in addition to their post
grades being determined in accordance with the provisions of Article 15 of the present Law, shall be appointed or removed in accordance
with the limits of authority prescribed below:

(1) officers at or above the level of deputy battalion commander and specialized technical officers at the senior, intermediate or
junior level shall be appointed or removed in accordance with the provisions of the third paragraph of Article 15 of the present
Law; and

(2) officers at the level of company commander, deputy company commander or platoon leader shall be appointed or removed by the heads
of units at the regimental level that have the power to appoint and remove officers.

   Article 17 Reserve officers shall be appraised. The appraisal shall be organized and conducted by the units in which they serve or by the military
service organs in conjunction with local departments concerned in accordance with the relevant regulations of the State and in line
with the division of responsibilities. The results of the appraisal shall be taken as the main basis for appointing or removing reserve
officers.

   Article 18 The determination of post grades and the appointment and removal of reserve officers shall be handled pursuant to the procedures
prescribed by the Central Military Commission.

   Article 19 Military ranks for reserve officers shall have the following eight grades under three categories:

(1) Reserve Generals: reserve Major General;

(2) Reserve field officers: reserve Senior Colonel, Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel and Major; and

(3) Reserve junior officers: reserve Captain, Lieutenant and Second Lieutenant.

   Article 20 The ranks for reserve officers shall be differentiated as follows:

(1) Operational, political and logistics reserve officers: reserve Major General, Senior Colonel, Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel, Major,
Captain, Lieutenant and Second Lieutenant.

For Naval and Air Force reserve officers, their ranks shall be prefixed by “Navy” and “Air Force” respectively.

   Article 21 The system of conferring military ranks by virtue of post grades shall be applied to reserve officers.

The ranks for operational, political and logistics reserve officers by virtue of their post grades shall be as follows:

Officers at the level of division commander: reserve Senior Colonel or Major General;

Officers at the level of deputy division commander: reserve Colonel or Senior Colonel;

Officers at the level of regiment commander: reserve Colonel or Lieutenant Colonel;

Officers the level of deputy regiment commander: reserve Lieutenant Colonel or Major;

Officers at the level of battalion commander: reserve Major or Lieutenant Colonel;

Officers at the level of deputy battalion commander: reserve Captain or Major;

Officers at the level of company commander: reserve Captain or Lieutenant;

Officers at the level of deputy company commander: reserve Lieutenant or Captain; and

Officers at the level of platoon leader: reserve Second Lieutenant or Lieutenant.

The ranks for specialized technical reserve officers by virtue of their post grades shall be as follows:

Senior specialized technical officers: specialized technical reserve Major General, Senior Colonel, Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel or
Major;

Intermediate specialized technical officers: specialized technical reserve Senior Colonel, Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel, Major or Captain;
and

Junior specialized technical officers: specialized technical reserve Lieutenant Colonel, Major, Captain, Lieutenant or Second Lieutenant.

   Article 22 The determination and conferment of military ranks on reserve officers shall be based on their post grades, their political integrity
and professional competence, and their actual achievements.

   Article 23 The conferment of military ranks on reserve officers shall be approved in accordance with the limits of authority prescribed below:

(1) The ranks of reserve Major General and Senior Colonel shall be conferred with the approval of the Chairman of the Central Military
Commission;

(2) The rank of reserve Colonel shall be conferred with the approval of the heads of units at the level of major military command;

(3) The ranks of reserve Lieutenant Colonel and Major shall be conferred with the approval of the heads of units at the corps level
that have the power to appoint and remove officers; and

(4) The ranks of reserve Captain, Lieutenant and Second Lieutenant shall be conferred with the approval of the heads of units at the
divisional level that have the power to appoint and remove officers.

   Article 24 The reserve ranks to be conferred on officers and civilian cadres who have been transferred to reserve service shall be determined
on the basis of their original ranks or grades when they were in active service.

   Article 25 The rank promotion of reserve officers shall be conducted as prescribed below:

(1) Where an officer has been approved to be released from active service and transferred to reserve service, if the prescribed interval
for rank promotion has expired and the specified requirements have been satisfied, his reserve rank may be one grade higher than
his rank when he was in active service;

(2) Where a reserve officer has been appointed to a higher post grade and his rank is lower than the lowest rank by virtue of his
new post grade, he shall be promoted ahead of time to the lowest rank by virtue of his new post grade;

(3) Where reserve officers from reserve Second Lieutenant to reserve Colonel meet the specified requirements and the prescribed intervals
for rank promotion, their reserve ranks may be promoted grade by grade by virtue of their post grades.

(4) Where reserve Senior Colonels are promoted to reserve Major Generals, selective promotion shall be practised.

(5) Where reserve officers have made outstanding contributions during their performance of military service, their reserve ranks may
be promoted ahead of schedule.

The requirements, intervals and procedures for promotion of reserve ranks shall be prescribed by the Central Military Commission.

   Article 26 The rank promotion of reserve officers shall be approved in accordance with the limits of authority prescribed below:

(1) The promotion from reserve Senior Colonel to reserve Major General or from reserve Colonel to reserve Senior Colonel shall be
approved by the Chairman of the Central Military Commission;

(2) The promotion from reserve Lieutenant Colonel to reserve Colonel shall be approved by the heads of units at the level of major
military command;

(3) The promotion from reserve Major to reserve Lieutenant Colonel or from reserve Captain to reserve Major shall be approved by the
heads of units at the corps level that have the power to appoint and remove officers.

(4) The promotion from reserve Lieutenant to reserve Captain or from reserve Second Lieutenant to reserve Lieutenant shall be approved
by the heads of units at the divisional level that have the power to appoint and remove officers.

   Article 27 Any reserve officer who has violated military discipline may be punished by demotion in rank in accordance with the relevant regulations
of the Central Military Commission. The limits of authority for approving the demotion in rank for reserve officers shall be the
same as those for approving the conferment of the rank.

The demotion in rank for reserve officers shall not be applicable to reserve officers with the rank of reserve Second Lieutenant.

   Article 28 Where a person has been deprived of his status as a reserve officer, his reserve rank shall be annulled. The limits of authority
for approving the annulment of a reserve rank shall be the same as those for approving the conferment of the rank.

   Article 29 Where a reserve officer has committed a crime and has been deprived of his political rights or sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment
of three years or more in accordance with law, he shall be deprived of his reserve rank. The limits of authority for approving the
deprivation of a reserve rank shall be the same as those for approving the conferment of the rank.

   Article 30 Where a reserve officer has been retired from reserve service, his rank shall be preserved and prefixed with “retired”.

   Article 31 Patterns of epaulets and insignias for reserve ranks and the ways of wearing them shall be promulgated by the Central Military Commission.

   Article 32 The registration of reserve officers shall be conducted by the people’s armed forces departments at the county level.

Persons who have been released from active service and assigned to be transferred to the reserve of officers shall be registered as
reserve officers at the time when they check in at the local departments in charge of their resettlement affairs; other persons shall
be registered as reserve officers at the same time when they have been assigned to serve in the reserve of officers.

Persons who work in State organs, public organizations, enterprises or institutions and have been assigned to serve in the reserve
of officers shall register as reserve officers with the people’s armed forces departments at the county level in the regions where
their work units are located; other persons who have been assigned to serve in the reserve of officers shall register as reserve
officers with the people’s armed forces departments at the county level in the regions where they made household registration.

   Article 33 Reserve officers who need to change the places of their registration as reserve officers due to the transfer of their work or the
change of their residence shall go through the procedures of transferring their registration of reserve service out from the original
places, and shall, within 30 days from their arrival at the new work units or the new residence, go through the procedures of transferring
their registration in at the people’s armed forces departments at the county level in the regions where they work or reside.

   Article 34 Where reserve officers fall into one of the following circumstances, their registration as reserve officers shall be cancelled by
the people’s armed forces departments at the county level:

(1) having been retired from reserve service;

(2) having settled down abroad;

(3) having been dead; or

(4) having been deprived of the status as a reserve officer.

   Article 35 The people’s armed forces departments at the county level shall make annual checks on the registered reserve officers in their respective
administrative regions in accordance with the relevant regulations, and the statistics so obtained shall be reported to higher authorities
level by level.

   Article 36 Reserve officers shall report for duty at the designated places within the prescribed time after they have received the notice for
call-up; in case anyone is unable for the time being to respond to the call because of injury, sickness or other reasons, his call-up
may be postponed, provided the case has been verified by the people’s armed forces department at the county level and approved by
the organ of military service at the next higher level.

   Article 37 Where persons who have never served in active service nor received military professional training have been selected to be reserve
officers, they shall take such training before their post grades for reserve officers are determined.

   Article 38 Reserve officers shall receive military training and political education during their term of reserve service in compliance with
the provisions of the Military Service Law and the present Law.

   Article 39 The State Council and the Central Military Commission may, when necessary, decide that emergency training shall be conducted with
respect to reserve officers. Reserve officers must receive such emergency training as prescribed.

   Article 40 Programs for military training and plans for political education for reserve officers shall be formulated by the General Staff, the
General Political Department and the General Logistics Department of the People’s Liberation Army.

   Article 41 The training of reserve officers who hold posts in reserve components or are pre-listed as officers for active components shall be
organized and conducted by the units in which they serve; the training of other reserve officers shall be organized and conducted
by the organs of military service. The work units of reserve officers and the departments concerned of the local people’s governments
shall provide assistance in this connection.

   Article 42 The actual achievements made by reserve officers in their performance of military duties shall be taken as one of the criteria by
their work units in the promotion of their posts or the increase in their wages. Reserve officers who have been awarded citations
for merit or conferred honourable post_titles shall enjoy the same rewards and preferential treatment as granted by the State or local
authorities to persons who have been awarded such citations for merit or conferred such honourable post_titles.

   Article 43 Reserve officers shall be dressed as required when they participate in military training or carry out military duties. On the occasion
of taking part in important celebration activities such as on the National Day and the Army Day, they may wear reserve officers uniforms
with epaulets and insignias indicating their reserve ranks.

   Article 44 During the period when reserve officers working in State organs, public organizations, enterprises or institutions are participating
in military training or carrying out military duties, their wages and bonuses shall be paid in full by their work units, and the
benefits and treatment they are enpost_titled to shall not be affected.

Reserve officers other than those referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be given subsidies for their loss of working time during
the period when they are participating in military training or carrying out military duties. Specific measures and standards therefor
shall be stipulated by the people’s governments of the provinces, autonomous regions or municipalities directly under the Central
Government.

When reserve officers participate in military training or carry out military duties, food allowances shall be provided and their to-and-fro
traveling expenses reimbursed in accordance with the regulations of the State.

   Article 45 Reserve officers who participate in military training and accomplish training tasks as required shall be given appropriate subsidies
on the basis of their post grades. Standards of subsidies shall be formulated by the Ministry of Finance jointly with the General
Staff, the General Political Department and the General Logistics Department of the People’s Liberation Army, and the funds thus
needed shall be guaranteed by the Central Government.

   Article 46 Where reserve officers have died or become disabled in the course of their performance of military activities such as military training
and military duties, the relevant affairs shall be handled with reference to the regulations of the State in respect of pensions
and preferential treatment granted to the families of the deceased servicemen or to the disabled servicemen.

   Article 47 Reserve officers shall be retired from reserve service when they have attained the maximum age for reserve service in peacetime.

   Article 48 The maximum age for reserve service of operational, political and logistics reserve officers in peacetime shall be:

55 for reserve officers at the divisional level;

55 for reserve officers at the regimental level;

50 for reserve officers at the battalion level;

45 for reserve officers at the company level; and

40 for reserve officers at the platoon level.

The maximum age for reserve service in peacetime may be appropriately extended for a small number of reserve officers, provided this
is necessitated by work and duly approved, however, the maximum age shall not be extended for more than 5 years.

   Article 49 The maximum age for reserve service of specialized technical officers in peacetime shall be:

60 for specialized technical reserve officers at the senior level;

55 for specialized technical reserve officers at the intermediate level; and

50 for specialized technical reserve officers at the junior level.

   Article 50 Reserve officers who have not reached the maximum age for reserve service in peacetime shall be retired from reserve service when
they are unable to continue to perform reserve service due to their injuries, sickness, disability or other reasons.

   Article 51 The limits of authority for approving the retirement of reserve officers from reserve service shall be the same as those prescribed
in paragraph 3 of Article 15 of the present Law.

   Article 52 Any reserve officer who has violated discipline during the period when he is participating in military training or carrying out military
duties shall be given administrative sanctions in accordance with the relevant regulations of the Central Military Commission; those
whose act has constituted a crime shall be investigated for criminal responsibility according to law.

   Article 53 Any reserve officer who has refused or evaded the registration or military training and refused to correct their mistakes after persuasion
shall be compelled to perform his obligations of military service by the local people’s government.

In wartime, any reserve officer who has refused or evaded the call-up or military training shall be investigated for criminal responsibility
according to law if the circumstances are serious.

   Article 54 Whoever, in his work of the administration of reserve officers, takes bribes, engages in malpractices for selfish ends or causes
serious losses to work of reserve service because of his dereliction of duty shall be investigated for criminal responsibility according
to law if the case constitutes a crime, or shall be given administrative sanctions if the case does not constitute a crime.

Whoever obstructs reserve officers from participating in military training, carrying out military duties or performing other obligations
of military service shall be ordered by the local people’s government to make rectification, where no rectification is made, administrative
sanctions shall be given according to law to the persons who are directly responsible for the case.

   Article 55 The present Law shall apply to the persons released from active service in the Chinese People’s Armed Police Force and assigned to
reserve service as reserve officers of the People’s Liberation Army.

   Article 56 These present Law shall come into force as of January 1, 1996.