EX-SOLDIERS RIOT OVER FEES AT RAILWAY VOCATIONAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 005976 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/12/2032 TAGS: PHUM PREL PGOV MARR CH SUBJECT: EX-SOLDIERS RIOT OVER FEES AT RAILWAY VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS BEIJING 00005976 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Aubrey Carlson. Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) Around 2,000 ex-soldiers rioted at three separate railway vocational schools in Baotou in Inner Mongolia, Baoji in Shaanxi Province, and Wuhan in Hubei Province on September 3, wire services reported September 11, citing the Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy. An Embassy contact in Baotou confirmed the report, saying the ex- soldiers were angry over poor living conditions at the schools and were disillusioned at learning that the jobs awaiting them at the end of their two-year training program are among the worst in the railway system. According to this contact, the demonstrations were coordinated, with organizers communicating via the Internet. A former PLA officer commenting to us weeks before these incidents warned that highly dissatisfied, and organized, demobilized soldiers pose a potential threat to social stability, with many ex- soldiers feeling they have been "abandoned" following their service to the PRC. End Summary. Ex-Soldiers Reportedly Riot at Three Schools -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Numerous wire services, citing the Hong Kong- based Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy, reported September 11 that 2,000 ex- soldiers took part in what appeared to be coordinated riots on September 3 at three separate railway vocational schools in Baotou in Inner Mongolia, Baoji in Shaanxi Province and Wuhan in Hubei Province. According to the Center's report, the soldiers were protesting poor living conditions and high fees at the schools. The ex-soldiers reportedly had no electrical outlets in their dorms and were charged up to RMB 1 (USD 0.13) to recharge their cell phones. According to various press accounts, the soldiers who took part in the unrest are part of a group of 6,000 who passed a July examination and were offered spots in two-year retraining programs at 12 different railway schools. The program reportedly is part of the PLA's effort to assist demobilized soldiers in finding employment and reduce resentment that has been growing among former officers and soldiers. Contact Confirms Details of the Incidents -------------- ¶3. (C) Baotou-based dissident Wang Yong (very strictly protect),confirmed to Poloff on September 12 most of the Information Center's report. Wang said 400 to 500 ex-soldiers had arrived at the Baotou Railway Engineering School for the start of the semester and had been shocked by the poor living conditions and high fees. Most of the soldiers had arrived with promises of good jobs but were angry to learn that, after paying various fees over one to two years of training, they would be assigned to difficult posts in remote areas. The jobs being offered the soldiers, Wang said, were the kind ordinary railway workers were unwilling to accept. ¶4. (C) In Baotou, the ex-soldiers turned over and burned one car, Wang said. According to Wang, some accounts that the soldiers had also set fire to buildings at the school were false. Officers from the Railway Police Bureau (tie lu gong an chu) were called in to quell the riot, and many of the demobilized soldiers involved have since returned to their hometowns. Wang described the railway school campus as nearly deserted. The demonstrations were coordinated, and activists among the ex-soldiers had been communicating over the Internet using Skype, according to Wang. ¶5. (C) In separate telephone conversations on September 12, an official at the Baotou Railway Engineering School, who would only give his surname Chen, told Poloff he had "heard" of the incident but was unable to discuss the matter over the phone. Meanwhile, several officers at the Baotou Public Security Bureau denied to Poloff that any "major incident" had taken place at the school. A Former PLA Officer's Prescient Comment? -------------- BEIJING 00005976 002.2 OF 002 ¶6. (C) Demobilized soldiers dissatisfied over their treatment following discharge from the PLA are a potential source of instability for the Chinese regime, according to a retired PLA officer who commented to Poloff weeks before the above incident. According to Zhai Zhihai (strictly protect),who now heads his own consulting firm after a 22-year career as a PLA intelligence officer, "millions" of former military officers and enlisted men are "highly dissatisfied" over their treatment, with many of them believing they have been "abandoned" and "given nothing" by the Party and State after having "put their lives on the line" for the PRC. Meanwhile, "spoiled rich kids" of the Party elite run around making millions, often by corrupt means. These demobilized soldiers are "highly energized and organized" and ought to be a significant concern for the Party, Zhai declared. ¶7. (C) Comment: Although the extent of discontent is unclear, the recent incidents in Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi and Hubei provinces appear to support Zhai's observation regarding dissatisfaction among the ranks of former soldiers, as well as their capacity to organize in expressing their grievances. Randt