Command of Armed Police Force to be unified

The Armed Police Force will be placed under the unified control of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Central Military Commission starting on Monday, the first day of 2018, according to the CPC Central Committee.

The decision, published on Wednesday night, stipulated that under the new command chain, Armed Police Force units will take orders directly from the force's headquarters, which, likewise, will follow directives from the Central Military Commission. It made clear that the Armed Police will be included in the Central Military Commission system and will no longer take orders from the State Council.

It also said that central and local Party organs as well as government departments at various levels will establish a new mechanism to ask for assistance from the Armed Police and to cooperate with the paramilitary force.