In February 1999, Beijing issued three urgent directives to China’s armed forces within the span of three weeks, reflecting growing concern inside the leadership over violent disputes within the military.
On Feb. 2, China’s State Council and the Central Military Commission issued an emergency notice ordering military units to prevent bloodshed linked to disputes over funds and property belonging to military-run economic enterprises.
On Feb. 8, the People’s Liberation Army’s four headquarters departments, the General Staff Department, General Political Department, General Logistics Department, and General Armaments Department, released another directive calling for investigations into illegal activities involving the seizure, division, or transfer of assets belonging to military economic entities.
Two weeks later, on Feb. 22, the State Council and the Central Military Commission issued a third emergency notice ordering an immediate halt to such activities and warning that those using weapons in disputes over economic assets would face severe punishment.
Violence over military business assets
These directives came after Beijing ordered the People’s Liberation Army, the People’s Armed Police, and other security forces in 1998 to withdraw from commercial activities.
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For years, Chinese military units had operated businesses ranging from factories and hotels to transportation companies. When the policy required those enterprises to be dismantled or transferred, disputes reportedly erupted inside the armed forces over the distribution of funds and property.
According to accounts cited in The Real Story of Jiang Zemin, units and commanders who had long been involved in profit-making struggled over how remaining assets should be divided. Some disputes reportedly escalated into armed confrontations involving rifles, artillery, and even armored vehicles.
Critics have argued that these incidents reflected the political environment within the military during the tenure of Jiang Zemin, who served as chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2004. They say patronage networks and corruption within the officer corps weakened discipline and contributed to internal rivalries.
Several incidents described in the accounts illustrate the severity of these disputes.
In Guangdong Province, the deputy political commissar of the Guangdong Military Region and the deputy political commissar of the South Sea Fleet reportedly gathered with subordinates in a bar to divide disputed property. The Zhuhai Garrison was invited to mediate.
During the meeting, tensions escalated into violence. Officers from both sides reportedly attacked one another with bottles. Tang, a department chief in the Guangdong Military Region logistics department, and Xiao, director of the political department at the Navy’s Zhanjiang base, later died from severe head injuries.
A dispute over millions
Another incident involved Cui Guodong, a major general and deputy commander of the PLA’s 13th Group Army.
According to the accounts, Cui flew to Xichang in Sichuan Province on Nov. 28, 1998, to demand 20 million yuan, about 2.4 million U.S. dollars at the time, from a deputy director in the logistics department of the Xichang Military Sub-District.
An argument reportedly followed. The logistics official drew his pistol first and shot Cui and Cui’s guard, Jiang Guomin, killing both men.
The incident reportedly drew the attention of senior military leaders. Fu Quanyou, then chief of the PLA General Staff, and Wang Ruilin, a deputy director of the General Political Department, were said to have traveled to Xichang to handle the situation.
Explosion tied to corruption
Another incident described in the accounts occurred at Radar Station Base 656 in Xianning, Hubei Province.
The facility was struck by a major explosion that triggered a large fire. More than a thousand soldiers and more than a dozen helicopters were reportedly mobilized to extinguish the blaze.
According to the reports, the incident was linked to corruption at a missile base in Chuxiong in Yunnan Province. A warehouse director in the logistics department allegedly skimmed off part of embezzled funds handled by senior officers.
After being punished by superiors, the individual allegedly set fire to a storage facility on April 5, 1998, when few personnel were present. The fire burned for hours, resulting in more than 120 people killed or injured and heavy equipment losses.
Violent disputes reported across regions
Similar incidents were reported in multiple regions of China during the period.
In eastern China, officers from the Anhui Provincial Military District, the Hefei Garrison, and the Anhui Armed Police reportedly clashed after senior officials allegedly seized most of the profits from joint commercial ventures before the enterprises were transferred out of military control. Gunfire reportedly broke out inside the provincial military district auditorium, leaving more than thirty officers killed or injured.
In northwestern China, tensions between the Lanzhou Military Region and the Gansu Provincial Military District reportedly erupted on Jan. 15, 1999. As the transfer of military enterprises approached, units from the Lanzhou command allegedly seized more than thirty newly purchased cars.
At roughly the same time, provincial forces reportedly attempted to seize steel from a Lanzhou Military Region warehouse known as “075.” When the two sides encountered each other, gunfire reportedly broke out, leaving seventy-two personnel killed or injured, including twelve officers.
In southwestern China, troops stationed in Zunyi and units from the Guizhou Provincial Military District reportedly exchanged gunfire over 2.6 million yuan in disputed funds, leaving more than ninety casualties.
In northeastern China, troops stationed in Jinxi, Liaoning Province, reportedly operated business ventures jointly with units from the Second Artillery Force, the branch responsible for China’s strategic missile forces.
Before those businesses were transferred, Jinxi troops allegedly took 500,000 yuan in profits. Second Artillery units then reportedly surrounded the garrison headquarters for more than seventy hours until senior commanders arrived to defuse the standoff.
Massive losses at an Air Force facility
One of the most serious incidents described in the accounts occurred at an Air Force aircraft storage center in Sheqi County in Nanyang, Henan Province.
Construction of the facility began in 1990 and was completed in 1994 at a reported cost of 8 billion yuan, about 960 million U.S. dollars at the time. The complex contained underground hangars capable of storing hundreds of aircraft.
On the night of Aug. 3, 1996, two soldiers reportedly argued over the distribution of illicit profits connected to another military-run business venture. The dispute escalated into gunfire.
The gunfire triggered explosions and fires that continued for roughly eight hours. By the following morning, eighty-one aircraft had been destroyed and ninety military personnel had been killed or injured. The direct losses were estimated at 1.1 billion yuan.
Concerns over military discipline
Official reports during the same period acknowledged declining performance in military training and technical evaluations. At the same time, disciplinary violations and criminal cases within the armed forces reportedly remained high.
Some units reportedly launched unusual campaigns unrelated to combat readiness. One widely cited example was a “weight-loss campaign” for officers and cadres.
Participants were divided into categories by rank, with cash rewards offered for losing weight. Officers who lost more than five kilograms could reportedly receive between 1,000 and 2,000 yuan. Those losing more than 7.5 kilograms could receive up to 5,000 yuan, while those losing ten kilograms or more could receive as much as 10,000 yuan.
Editor’s Note: The incidents described in this article are drawn from accounts published in the book The Real Story of Jiang Zemin and related reports circulated by overseas Chinese media. Some details have not been independently verified.
