Political officers are assigned to PLA units at every levels in the chain-of-command, from the company level up to the general departments. At the regimental-level and above, the political officer is known as “political commissar” (政治委员、政委). At the battalion level, it is known as “political director” (教导员) , and at the company level, “political instructor” (指导员). An exception is that among the four administrative departments in any headquarters, the headquarters and political departments do not have a political commissar. Also, there is no political officer in platoons and squads.
The political officer enjoys a status that is equal to that of the military commander. Under this dual leadership, the political officer and commander share responsibility for all military work, and are both accountable to the Party committee (or branch). In principle, the commander is responsible for the unit’s military matters: combat operations, logistics, tactical training, etc. The political officer, on the other hand, is responsible for purely political matters: ideological education, personnel affairs, security, discipline, military-civil relations, youth work, etc. The political commissar exercises his roles through the political department in the headquarters, and reports to the political officer and political department of the next higher-level unit in the chain-of-command.
During operations, the political officer also serves as the unit’s second-in-command, and takes over the command authority when the commander is debilitated.
Political Departments
The political department is one of the four administrative departments in the headquarters of every PLA unit at the regimental-level and above, extending to the PLA General Political Department (GPD) in Beijing. Depending on the unit’s status in PLA’s administrative hierarchy, the political department could be either a “department” (部) , a “division” (处), an “office” (科), or a “branch” (股) . The headquarters, logistics, and equipment department of the headquarters also have their own political departments. The political department is headed by a director, who reports to the Political commissar of the unit and is a member of the unit’s Party committee standing committee. There is no political commissar in the political department.
The primary function of the political department is to implement the decisions of the corresponding Party committee and to secure the support of the troops for the Party’s policies through political education. The political department is subdivided into various functional sections responsible for matters relating to cadre personnel management, party affair, ideological education, security, discipline, recreation, military-civilian relations, further education, etc. At the army-level and above, the political department is also in charge of the military judicial system.
Discipline Inspection System
The PLA has a discipline inspection system for monitoring the actions of the Party members and Party organisations and ensuring that Party disciplines are maintained. The system is mirrored after the CCP’s discipline inspection system on the civilian side. The discipline inspection system consists of two hierarchies – the Party discipline inspection commission that runs along side the Party committee in all PLA units at the regimental-level and above, and the discipline inspection department under the political department in the headquarters at the regimental-level and above. At the division-level and below, the function of the discipline inspection department is carried out by the organisation department under the political department. At the battalion- and company-level, where there is no discipline inspection commission or political department, a specific member of the Party committee is assigned with the role of discipline inspection.
A discipline inspection commission consists of 7~11 people, and is headed by a secretary and a deputy secretary. Like their corresponding Party committee, the discipline inspection commission is elected during the Party Congress, subject to the approval of the next higher-level Party committee. At the regimental-level and above, the discipline inspection commission is elected every five years. At the battalion-level, it is elected every three years. At the company-level, it is elected every two years.
Military Judicial System
The PLA has a judicial system composed of military courts, military procuratorates, and security departments (under the political department), which exercise the power trial, procuratorial, and law enforcement and investigation respectively, in accordance with the laws regarding criminal cases within the armed forces. The military courts and military procuratorates are established within the armed forces as part of the State judicial system, meaning that they adhere to State laws. The political work system also runs military prisons in the armed forces.
The military judicial system in the PLA has a three-tier structure: regional military court and military procuratorate in each of the group armies, provincial military districts, military region air forces, and naval fleets; intermediate-level military courts and military procuratorates in each of the seven military region headquarters, the PLA Navy headquarters, and the PLA Air Force headquarters; the PLA Military Court and the PLA Military Procuratorate at the national level. The operations of the military judicial system is led by the political department of the same level, but exercises independent judgement.
The security departments, which are established in the political departments of PLA units at the regimental-level and above, investigate criminal cases within the armed forces in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Law. Additionally, security departments are also given the responsibilities of counterintelligence operations within the armed forces; counter-psychological warfare; vetting service personnel; and guarding key targets, personnel, and events. In time of war, the security departments are responsible for the interrogation of prisoners of war.
Political Colleges
Although political education is one of essential elements in the curriculum of all PLA military colleges and universities, special political colleges have been established to train political officers. These include the PLA Nanjing Political College and PLA Xi’an Political College, as well as the Political College of the PLA National Defence University.
