PLA's past strategy to trim down
( 2003-09-02 08:44) (China Daily)
The first instance came in June 1950, when the number of soldiers was to be
reduced from 5.5 million to 4 million. Within the year, 239,000 soldiers had
been deactivated. But in 1951, when the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid
Korea started, the number rebounded to 6.27 million - the largest in the army's
history.
Second, in January 1952, Chairman Mao Zedong approved a disarmament plan
which resulted in only 4.2 million soldiers by September 1953.
The third disarmament plan was made in December 1953 to decrease the number
of soldiers to 3.5 million. The aim was reached by the end of 1954.
The fourth reduction, which was made in January 1957, left the number of
soldiers standing at 2.5 million.
During the fifth round of cuts in the middle of 1975, the army decided to
deactivate 600,000 soldiers within three years but the plan was aborted because
of the "Cultural Revolution (1966-76)."
The sixth, seventh and eighth disarmament periods were undertaken in March of
1980, September of 1982 and late May of 1985, respectively. A total of 1 million
soldiers were deactivated in 1985.
The ninth reduction came in 1997, when the army said it would deactivate
500,000 soldiers within three years. The aim was achieved by the end of 1999.
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