CHINA is considering drafting a law on veterans welfare and a guideline on the work related to veterans in the new era, minister of veterans affairs Sun Shaocheng said Tuesday.

The Ministry of Veterans Affairs is reviewing all policies and regulations regarding veterans affairs since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, Sun told a news briefing by the State Council Information Office.

The ministry will help more than 80,000 ex-servicemen and women and nearly 40,000 veterans find jobs this year, the minister said.

The ministry, which was inaugurated in April, is a new establishment in the wide-ranging Party and state institutional reform.

On the same day, an order given by the State Council decided to issue plaques of honor to all families who had or have loved ones in military service.

The scope of eligible families is expanded to those of active service personnel, martyrs, and demobilized or deceased ex-servicemen and women (who died on duty or of illness).

The plaques had been reserved for families of martyrs and volunteer military personnel before the expansion.

“It is a key measure to promote the tradition of honoring military families,” said the circular, adding that the issuance needs to be completed by May 1, 2019.

The plate is painted gold and inscribed with four large Mandarin characters: Guang Rong Zhi Jia (Family of Honor), the circular said. The family can decide where it wants to place the plaque, but it is advisable to hang it on the front door.

Authorities said the move would help establish a military honor system and create an atmosphere in which military service is regarded as a profession of honor and treated with respect.

Also, according to a circular issued last week by the Ministry of Veterans Affairs and the Ministry of Finance, pension allowances for disabled soldiers, police officers, state officials, and militia members as well as for family members of martyrs and deceased soldiers has increased by 10 percent starting yesterday, China’s Army Day, which falls on Aug. 1 every year.

(Xinhua)