National Mobilization Law Gets Review
04/22/2009 Source: China Daily
A draft law on how the nation mobilizes its resources in times of war or emergency had its first review by the top legislature on Monday after more than 10 years of being mulled over.
The national defense mobilization law authorizes the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee to request a national or regional mobilization if “State sovereignty, unification, territorial integrity or security are threatened”, and let the president issue the order.
After the order is issued, governments above county level can “expropriate civilian resources according to law if material supplies cannot meet the demand”. But such resources must be returned or compensated after use.
People’s daily necessities and housing, and social welfare institutes such as kindergartens and rest homes, are exempt from expropriation, according to the draft law.
It also stipulates that members of the reserves have to provide contact information to military authorities if they leave home for more than a month.
Anyone who refuses or evades national defense duties, or delays civilian resource expropriation, could be fined up to 20,000 yuan ($2,930) or face criminal punishment.
Companies or public institutes refusing to cooperate could face fines up to 200,000 yuan, the draft says.
Defense Minister Liang Guanglie said the law is of “great significance” in safeguarding State security and development and in boosting national strength.
“Though peace and stability remain the norm, the world is not peaceful. Hegemony still exists and regional conflicts appear constantly,” he told legislators.
“We must be prepared for dangers and increase our national defense awareness,” he said.
Liang, also a member of the Central Military Commission, said such a mobilization law is common in major countries. “In a country as big as China, we should have such a law too,” he said.
Experts said the law is actually long overdue. The draft law entered the legislative agenda of the NPC Standing Committee in 1998, but was not submitted for review until Monday.
“The army has been pushing for such a law for years, but constant military and government reforms have delayed it,” said Pan Zheng, a senior researcher with China’s National Defense University.
The existing National Defense Law stipulates that the nation can assemble both military and civilian resources for war or emergency. However, Luo Haixi, another researcher with the National Defense University, said a separate law on mobilization will nevertheless offer more legal backing and standardize the procedures.
