Public Security Forces

The Public Security Forces are paramilitary police branches, which are manned by the active-duty service personnel of the People’s Armed Police (PAP) and organised and equipped along military lines, but are placed under the control of the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) and local public security (police) departments rather than military. They primarily include three police forces: Border Troops, Firefighting Troops, and Guard Troops.

Border Troops

The Public Security Border Troops (公安边防部队) are responsible for China’s border control and security. The Border Troops is officially part of the Chinese People’s Armed Police Corps (PAP), but is administratively and operationally subordinated to the Ministry of Public Security (MPS). The Border Troops is composed of active-duty servicemen, with a total strength of 100,000 personnel. Officers of the Border Troops all have dual-identities, being both PAP active servicemen and public security (police) officers with full power of law enforcement.

The Border Troops was originally created by the MPS in 1979, and became a branch of the newly formed PAP in 1983. The Border Troops was initially subordinated to the PAP headquarters, but a government regulation issued in 1985 clearly defined that the leadership of the three public security forces – Border, Firefighting, and Guard – should stay with the MPS to allow more professional management by the ministry. In 2001, the management and command of the Border Troops across the country was taken away from provincial public security agencies to be transferred to the Border Control Bureau (边防管理局) of the MPS, allowing more centralised control over these troops.

Every provincial-level entity in China (provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities) with land border or coast has a border general corps (边防总队), which is concurrently the border control bureau of that entity. Every prefectural-level entity (prefecture or city) with land border or coast has a border detachment (边防支队), which is concurrently the Border sub-bureau of the given entity. Every county-level entity with land border or coast has a Border group (边防大队). Basic operational unit of the Border Troops include border squadrons (边防中队), border police stations (边防派出所), and border inspection stations (边防检查站). Additionally, the Border Troops has created coast guard flotillas (海警支队) in every province with coast to perform maritime patrol and inspection roles. They work along with other government agencies in patrolling China’s coastal waters.

Currently the Border Troops share the responsibility with the PLA Border units to protect China’s 22,000km land borders. The PLA border defence troops provide early warning of border violations and constitutes the first line of defence in the event of a border incursion, while the Public Security Border Troops perform border control duty at border checkpoints and border inspection stations. In some populated regions near the border, border police stations are set up to perform some law enforcement functions, including residents registration, anti-drug smuggling, anti-human trafficking, and fighting other crimes.

In 1998, the MPS introduced professional policing into its border police force in response to the increasingly complex border control in China. This resulted in the Exit & Entry Border Inspection General Stations (出入境边防检查总站) being set up in nine major cities including Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Xiamen, Haikou, and Shantou. Staffed by professional border police officers in the black police uniforms, these inspection general stations took over the border control duty at the airports, seaports, and land border stations in these nine cities from the Border Troops.

Another significant change came in 2003, when the PLA took over the defence of the China-DPRK border and the Yunnan section of the China-Myanmar border previously guarded by the Board Troops. Chinese state media explained that the purpose of the move was “enabling the state to integrate land Border and administration”.

Firefighting Troops

The Public Security Firefighting Troops (公安消防部队) serve as China’s fire and rescue service. Officially, the Firefighting Troops are a branch of the Chinese People’s Armed Police (PAP) Corps, but the force is administratively and operationally subordinated to the MPS. Like its counterparts around the world, the Firefighting Troops are responsible for extinguishing fires and saving lives and properties. The force is also responsible for inspecting buildings and public places to ensure that they are compliant with fire safety codes and regulations.

The 130,000-men Firefighting Troops are composed on active-duty servicemen in the olive-green PAP uniforms and insignia. The troops are organised along the military lines, and follow the rules and regulations of the PLA. Officers of the Firefighting Troops have dual-identity, being both PAP service personnel and public security police officers. Conscripts serve a fixed term of two years, while non-commissioned officers (NCOs) are on a contract of a fixed term of three years or more. In recent years, more and more paid professional firefighters have been recruited into the fire service as a supplement to the Firefighting Troops.

The MPS manages the Firefighting Troops through its Firefighting Bureau. Each provincial-level entities in China (provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities) has a Firefighting General Corps (消防总队), which concurrently serves as the Firefighting Bureau of that entity. A Firefighting General Corps is a “Division-Level” unit, headed by a PAP senior colonel. Each prefectural-level entity in China (prefectures and cities) has a Firefighting Detachment (消防支队), which concurrently serves as the Firefighting Sub-Bureau of the given entity. Each county-level entity in China has a Firefighting Squadron (消防中队), which is the basic operational unit of the Firefighting Troops. While the central government provides funding for the service personnel of the Firefighting Troops, local governments are responsible for the funding of fire fighting equipments, vehicles, and barracks.

Since the mid-1990s, the Firefighting Troops have developed elite special duty units to deal with chemical leakage, fire and explosions and other unexpected disasters in urban areas. In every major city, a special duty group (特勤大队) has been formed, each consisting of two or more special duty squadrons (特勤中队). Compared to traditional fire service, these special duty units are tasked with a much broader range of missions, including dealing with water pipe burst, gas leaks, chemical leaks, suicide attempts, and other general rescue missions. According to the Chinese reports, in recent years half of the missions carried out by the Firefighting Troops are non-fire related.

Guard Troops

The Public Security Guard Troops (公安警卫部队) are responsible for the protection of senior party and government officials as well as important foreign visitors. The Guard Troops are officially a branch of the People’s Armed Police (PAP) Corps, and composed of active-duty servicemen wearing PAP uniforms. However, the management and leadership of the Guard Troops lies with the MPS. Therefore, the Guard Troops are more of a police force rather than military force.

The MPS manages the Guard Troops through the Guard Bureau, also known as the 8th Bureau. The bureau is responsible for directing the operations of Guard Troops across the country, and also directly responsible for the protection of top government officials. The responsibility of senior leadership security is split between the 8th Bureau and the Central Guard Bureau (9th Bureau). While the latter is responsible for protecting the five most senior Party and state officials (President, Premier, Chairman of the National People’s Congress, etc.), the former is responsible for protecting other senior officials, including the Vice President, the Vice Premiers, the Vice Chairman of the National People’s Congress, the Vice Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the President of the Supreme People’s Court, the Procurator-General of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate. Additionally, the 8th Bureau is also responsible for protecting senior foreign officials during their visits to China, as well as safeguarding large public events and important government and party conferences held in Beijing.

At the local level, the public security agency of every provincial-level entity (provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities) has a guard bureau (警卫局). The public security bureau of every prefectural-level entity (prefectures and cities) has a guard section (警卫处). Local guard bureaus and sections are mainly responsible for the security of senior officials of the central government and the Party’s Central Committee, as well as important foreign visitors, during their visits to the jurisdictions of the these bureaus and sections. They also provide security services for important national or international conferences and events held within their jurisdictions.

Officers of the Guard Troops all have dual-identities, being both PAP active servicemen and public security (police) officers with full power of law enforcement. They are given both olive-green PAP uniforms and black police uniforms, and wear these uniforms depending on the mission and situation.

Last update: 20 March 2009