On August 1, 2025, the 98th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army of the Chinese Communist Party, activities were carried out in many places to show respect to retired military veterans. However, some veterans took to social media platforms to complain that the gifts they received were merely a bag of sugar, sparking resonance among the veteran community and social controversy. Several scholars pointed out that in the context of tight local finances, the treatment of veterans revealed institutional flaws.
On the short video platform Douyin, a retired veteran posted a video saying, “The government is broke too. This year’s Army Day gift was just a bag of sugar. I spent 16 yuan taking a ride to the town to collect the sugar. I had a 15 yuan lunch, so after calculations, I ended up losing 11 yuan.” He attached a photo of the sugar in his hand, which led to many netizens sharing the video.
The comments section was filled with various opinions. Some quoted elders saying, “A small gift with heartfelt wishes brings contentment.” While others did the math saying, “16+15-20=11, a five-kilogram bag of sugar is worth 20 yuan, not bad.” Another netizen retorted, “Sugar costs at most 10 yuan, in reality, it’s a loss of 21 yuan.”
Many netizens took the opportunity to show off the “Army Day gifts list” from various places, revealing stark differences in treatment. One netizen said, “In our village, we received 10 kilograms of rice and 400 yuan in cash.” Another person mentioned, “The gifts here are worth about 800 yuan.” But there were also comments like, “You’re lucky, we didn’t receive anything.”
A veteran from Shandong, Mr. Zhang, who participated in the 1979 Sino-Vietnamese border war, told a reporter that he had never received formal condolences. “This year is the same, only the village secretary came to exchange greetings, but nothing else.” Mr. Zhang bluntly stated, “Perhaps because I’ve been petitioning for a long time, they consider me a sensitive individual. I don’t care about those things anyway.”
A netizen in Sichuan mentioned that her husband, a war veteran, received 400 yuan in condolences this year, while her nephew, who also retired but didn’t participate in the war, only received 200 yuan. Mrs. Zhou from Gengquan, Sichuan, said, “My husband is a veteran, but we have never received any gifts or money.”
Another veteran mentioned that this year’s “condolences” amounted to a simple text message: “The Department of Veterans Affairs offers sincere greetings to all veterans.”
Mr. Guo, a Qingdao veteran who participated in the war against Vietnam, told the reporter that there were huge differences in condolences across different regions. “In places with money, they give out rice, oil, or cash, while in less wealthy areas, it’s just a text message.” He added that the Civil Affairs Department once sent rice and peanut oil, but he refused: “They just wanted me to pose with the rice and oil for propaganda. I don’t need this hypocritical sympathy.”
He mentioned that a comrade in Guangxi received a teacup this year. “I asked him, why a teacup? Who doesn’t have teacups at home? The government readily sends billions in aid to Africa, but those of us who bled for the country are now marginalized.”
Regarding the controversy sparked by the Army Day condolences, a public policy scholar from Shandong University, Zhang Su (pseudonym), mentioned in an interview that China’s veteran affairs still heavily rely on local financial conditions and implementation willingness, leading to “the same status, different treatment.” “In fact, veterans should be important recipients of institutional care. Taking the example of Western countries like the United States, they have specialized institutions to ensure the living and psychological health of veterans, providing housing, medical care, and financial assistance.”
In the face of economic downturn, decreased corporate and tax revenues, and strained finances, Zhang Su believed that if local governments are financially challenged, the central government should supplement through means like transfers, rather than leaving veterans feeling sorry for themselves. “The reality is that they spare no expense on neighborhood committees, community workers, village police, and various stability maintenance projects, marginalizing some groups of veterans in the condolences policy.”
A sociology associate professor at a university in the south, Lin Run (pseudonym), mentioned in an interview that the group of retired military personnel in the Communist Party of China is vast, encompassing war veterans, militia members, and contract soldiers, yet there lacks a sophisticated stratified care mechanism. “There is no unified system for condolences, lacking human warmth and legal protection, ultimately leading to mere formalities and even sparking resentment.”