Beijing is set to hold a military parade next week, and security measures are being intensified. The Chinese Communist Party’s Cyberspace Administration recently announced a special campaign to crack down on “inappropriate behavior of retired soldiers and harmful content related to them” online within a month. Some veterans believe that this may be an excuse to suppress veteran rights activists.
According to the official Xinhua News Agency on August 29, the Central Cyberspace Administration pointed out that some online accounts recently used the name of “retired soldiers” to live-stream the sale of counterfeit goods, engage in vulgar performances, exploit military sentiments, and damage the image of retired soldiers. Starting immediately until the end of September 2025, they will conduct a so-called “special campaign for addressing inappropriate behavior and harmful content related to retired soldiers online.” The focus will be on creating false identities of retired soldiers through wearing military uniforms and replicas, wearing military medals, displaying military items, and setting up background scenes.
Commentator Li Linyi told Epoch Times that the Chinese Communist regime already has strict control over the internet. Normally, if there were online accounts conducting activities as described by the authorities, they would have already been restricted or cleared out, rather than waiting to address them specifically before and after the military parade. Therefore, it is very likely that this campaign is aimed at suppressing veterans who are legitimately advocating for their rights online, such as those who use their military medals as credentials.
In recent years, tens of thousands of retired soldiers on the Chinese mainland have petitioned for their rights, especially in terms of placement issues, but have faced suppression by the Chinese authorities. The crackdown on those who speak out online has been particularly harsh.
Regarding the Cyberspace Administration’s crackdown on online information related to retired soldiers, Zhang Heli, a mainland retired soldier now living in exile in New Zealand, told Epoch Times that this seems more like the authorities seizing an opportunity to discredit and slander rights-defending retired soldiers. Because of the military parade, the Chinese Communist Party fears that this group might organize and cause trouble, so they issued a warning to them to stay put and behave obediently. “They are afraid of the veterans coming together.”
Zhang Heli mentioned that the Chinese Communist Party is very afraid of the veterans’ online comments. “In December 2018, overnight, all WeChat groups for veterans in China were shut down. In 2019, I was detained because I discussed government corruption in a WeChat group. In fact, if you simply express dissatisfaction with the government’s inaction and speak your mind, the authorities will label you as damaging the image of the Chinese Communist Party.”
An overseas account named “Yesterday” released a video on June 10 this year showing special police officers conducting checks on some petitioning veterans in the lobby of a train station in Jingjiang, Jiangsu Province.
One veteran recorded a video on the scene, mockingly shouting, “I want to confess a mistake to my comrades right now. I made a mistake by joining the army for 15 years, I made a mistake by joining the Party, and I want to admit my mistakes to the leaders of Jingjiang City and say that I was wrong to serve in the military and join the Party!”