China Human Rights Defenders reported that for the past few years, a total of 10,110 Corp or Division Rank Retired Cadres have jointly signed petition letters to the Central Military Commission, requesting that the problems of housing and other issues of unfair treatment of the 60,000 Corp or Division Rank Retired Cadres be solved. Many of them also went to Beijing to petition. Retired military cadres and soldiers have become a significant part of the defense of rights in China. Their defense of their rights takes various forms: 1. Open petition letters; 2. Demands for political reform, defending human rights, justice, a respect for life, and, in addition, requests for the same treatment as the soldiers on active duty; 3. Electing representatives for a dialog with military officials; 4. A vote allowing the deposing of current officials; 5. Direct resistance actions; and 6. Gathering petitions.
Recently, there have been demands for nationalization of the military. The Chinese Communist Party has been trying hard to suppress the demand. It also uses such methods as promotions, better benefits, or even allows military officers on active duty to be corrupt. However, it ignores the retired officers.
Source: China Human Rights Defenders, May 25, 2009
http://crd-net.org/Article/Class53/200905/20090525123046_15570.html