Veterans ministry working to improve vets' lives after service

The Ministry of Veterans Affairs is making a combination of efforts to improve the welfare of military veterans and to better resolve their difficulties, ministry leaders said.

Sun Shaocheng, minister of veterans affairs, told reporters at a news conference held by the State Council Information Office on Tuesday that these efforts include a comprehensive collection of veterans' information, improvement of veterans' treatment and stronger assistance to help veterans' land civilian jobs.

"There was no specific department in charge of veterans affairs before us so we lack some information and data about veterans. Therefore we must obtain full information to support our decision-making," he said. "We will improve the welfare systems for veterans and families of those who died in the line of duty in the military, and will link the benefits with retirees' performance and contribution in service."

There are more than 530,000 military members leaving the armed forces this year, according to Sun.

He said his ministry, which was established in April, will make sure that more than 80,000 officers and almost 40,000 soldiers get civilian jobs arranged by local governments and State-owned enterprises.

Moreover, the ministry will strengthen its support to more than 400,000 officers and soldiers about to retire this year who could choose to find a civilian job by themselves or start their own business, he added.

The conference marked the first time Sun has met the press as minister of Veterans Affairs. Vice-ministers Qian Feng and Fang Yongxiang, who is a major general in the People's Liberation Army, also took part in the meeting.

Since the founding of the People's Republic in 1949, more than 57 million veterans have retired from the military, and the number is increasing by the hundreds of thousands annually, according to statistics from the Ministry of Veterans Affairs. However, the exact number of living veterans remains unknown, it said.

The ministry is developing a law to safeguard the rights and interests of military veterans.

According to the first draft of the law on the welfare of military veterans, it will focus on resolving difficulties faced by veterans. It will also specify rules for handling veteran affairs, stipulate the responsibilities of authorities and arrange training for military retirees. It will also set up an award system for veterans and create an assessment apparatus to examine local governments' performance in veteran affairs.