More than 1,000 people protested in front of China’s Ministry of National Defence on Tuesday in what is the latest protest against cutbacks to the country’s military. Protestors declined to talk to representatives of the Associated Press.
Hundreds of police and plainclothes security officers cordoned off the area and surrounded it with buses and police vehicles. Liu Feiyue, editor of the civil rights website Minsheng Guancha, said ex-soldiers were present during the protest.
“They protested because they don’t have a job now after serving a long period of time in the army, some for a dozen years,” Liu said. “They are asking for employment.”
Last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced cuts to China’s 2.3 million strong People’s Liberation Army, which would retire about 300,000 soldiers.
