Download or read book China's Other Army: the People's Armed Police in an Era of Reform written by Joel Wuthnow and published by . This book was released on 2019-04 with total page 51 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: China's premier paramilitary force--the People's Armed Police (PAP)--is undergoing its most profound restructuring since its establishment in 1982.Previously under dual civilian and military command, the PAP has been placed firmly under China's military. As chairman of the Central Military Commission, Xi Jinping now has direct control over all of China's primary instruments of coercive power. This represents the highest degree of centralized control over China's paramilitary forces since the Cultural Revolution. Local and provincial officials have lost the ability to unilaterally deploy PAP units in the event of civil unrest or natural disasters, but can still request support through a new coordination system. The China Coast Guard, which previously reported to civilian agencies, has been placed within the PAP and is thus now part of the military command structure. New PAP operational commands, known as "mobile contingents," have been established with a diverse mix of capabilities. They will play a key role in protecting the capital and could be deployed in a Taiwan contingency, among other missions. Geographic distribution of mobile PAP units remains skewed to western China, providing rapid reaction capabilities that could be used to repress dissent in Xinjiang and Tibet. Politically, the reforms reaffirm Chinese Communist Party (and Xi Jinping's) control over the PAP and may reduce the scope for local abuse of power.