On the eve of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Day, a group of members from the China Democratic Party (San Francisco branch) gathered outside the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco on the afternoon of July 26th to call for the promotion of the nationalization of the Chinese military and oppose the long-standing “Party commands the gun” system practiced by the Chinese Communist Party.
The “Initiative Against the CCP Party Guards System and the Call for Military Nationalization” was jointly written by the China Democratic Party (San Francisco branch), Propaganda Department of the China Democratic Education Foundation including Miao Qing, He Yicheng, Li Xiaolin, and Lu Xiaoqing.
Miao Qing, the head of the propaganda department, read out the entire initiative, calling for the military to be loyal to the country and the people, rather than to any political party or individual, advocating for the establishment of a nationalized, professional, and apolitical defense system.
As China’s People’s Liberation Army celebrates its ninety-ninth anniversary, we, the China Democratic Party (San Francisco branch) and the China Democratic Education Foundation, solemnly issue a call to all those concerned about China’s future, national destiny, and the welfare of its people.
Looking back at modern world history, it is evident that stable, prosperous, and law-abiding countries have all established a fundamental principle: the military belongs to the country, not to any political party or individual. The military’s sole legitimacy should stem from the constitution and laws, not the will of political organizations. The duty of the military is to defend national security, maintain social stability, and protect the lives and property of the people, not to engage in political struggles or become a tool for any political group to maintain power.
Yet, the Chinese Communist Party has long adhered to the political principle of “Party commands the gun,” placing the national armed forces under the control of a single party, separating the military institutionally from the national constitutional structure. This system fundamentally leads to the politicization of the country’s military, making it difficult to truly represent the interests of all citizens and objectively leading to estrangement and tension between military personnel and society. Historical experience repeatedly shows that when the military is bound to specific political forces, national governance loses neutrality and credibility, and it becomes challenging to establish a genuine rule of law in society.
We must recognize soberly that a modern state’s military should not be a “party army” and certainly not any form of “party guards.” Once the military deviates from the constraints of the national constitution, it may stray from its core mission along a path of politicization, thereby harming the long-term interests of the country and the fundamental rights of the people. A truly powerful nation lies not in the military serving a specific regime but in the military serving the entire populace and the overall interests of the country.
In light of this, we solemnly urge:
1. Promote military nationalization to return the military to be under the national constitutional system, becoming a genuinely national armed force;
2. Establish the singularity of the military’s loyalty, specifically loyal to the country and the people, not to any political party or individual;
3. Every officer and soldier in the military should stand with the masses and all freedom-loving people worldwide to overthrow the CCP’s anti-human dictatorship!
4. The military should serve the people! Every officer and soldier in the military has the right to refuse to carry out any illegal, anti-human orders;
We believe that the true honor of a soldier comes not just from obeying orders but from being loyal to the country, the people, and justice. A soldier’s oath should be based on protecting the innocent, maintaining peace, and abiding by the law, not on any political demands that contradict basic human conscience.
The country belongs to the people, the military belongs to the country – this is an unshakeable principle of modern civilized society. The people are not subordinate to any political force; they are truly the masters of the country. The existence of the military is to safeguard the people, not to dominate over them.
We firmly believe that a truly modernized, legally governed, and constitutional China will establish a nationalized, professional, and apolitical defense system. In such a system, there will no longer be estrangement and confrontation between the military and the people but rather mutual trust and co-guardianship.
Let us work together and continue to promote this historic transformation: the military belongs to the country and the people; military nationalization is an indispensable step for China to move towards democracy, rule of law, and constitutional governance. ◇