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Chinese SOEs Set Up In-house Armed Forces Departments, Readying for Massive Social Unrest: China Experts

Chinese SOEs Set Up In-house Armed Forces Departments, Readying for Massive Social Unrest: China Experts
Female and male security guards march in front of Tiananmen Gate in Beijing Saturday, May 31, 2014. A quarter century after the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy movement’s suppression, China’s communist authorities oversee a raft of measures for muzzling dissent and preventing protests. They range from the sophisticated - extensive monitoring of online debate and control over media - to the relatively simple - routine harassment of government critics and maintenance of a massive domestic security force. AP Photo/Alexander F. Yuan
Sophia Lam
Sophia Lam
10/7/2023|Updated: 10/7/2023
0:00

Multiple recent official reports in China reveal the setting up of Armed Forces Departments (AFDs), a paramilitary entity under the supervision of both the army and the regime that oversees China’s militia, one of the largest of its kind in the world.

A major state-owned enterprise (SOE) in Shanghai, China’s commercial and financial hub, reportedly launched an AFD inside the company last Thursday.

Sophia Lam
Sophia Lam
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Sophia Lam joined The Epoch Times in 2021 and covers China-related topics.
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China
militia
People's Armed Forces Department
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