The military will put an end to all commercial activities before the end of this year, according to a guideline released on June 11.Halting commercial activities is a decision of strategic importance made by the Communist Party of China Central Committee, the Central Military Commission and Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, said the guideline, jointly issued by the general offices of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, the State Council and the Central Military Commission.The move is also a significant part of the ongoing reform of national defense and the military, and will help create an enabling environment for the military to stick to its mission and improve its combat capacity.According to the guideline, the military will put an end to all programs that aim to make profit. Programs that deviate from its main mission or provide services for society will also be halted.Contracts between the military and civilian entities that do not conclude by year's end should be terminated by that time through negotiation or legal procedures, it said, adding that compensation will be provided for economic losses.Different strategies should be adopted to terminate existing programs that are deemed sensitive or sophisticated. Some former military services can be absorbed through military-civilian integration.The guideline said all properties, land and reception facilities owned by the military and used for commercial purposes, will be administered and allocated by the Central Military Commission. Terminating such services was the shared responsibility of the military as well as central and local authorities. coloured wristbands24 hour wristbands
SEOUL - South Korean residents and peace activists on Thursday demanded the complete retreat of the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile interception system from their country. Dozens of people gathered outside the government complex in central Seoul, just 1-2 km away from the presidential Blue House, to call for the new government to pave the way for the complete retreat of the US missile shield. The protesters were composed of residents living near the THAAD deployment site and civic group activists who continued to conduct anti-THAAD demonstrations together with the residents. They told a press conference that the new government must stop all activities relevant to the THAAD deployment, urging it to open the way for the reversal of the THAAD installation by thoroughly investigating and reviewing the deployment process from the starting point. The demonstrators held posters that read "Look thoroughly into the illegal THAAD that does no good but harm," and "Reverse the THAAD deployment decision." The protest rally came a day after a senior Blue House official said that the already installed THAAD elements will inevitably remain though the deployment of four more mobile launchers will be halted until a green audit ends. Around two weeks before the country's presidential by-election on May 9, part of the THAAD elements, including radar and two mobile launchers, were transported in the middle of night to a golf course at Soseong-ri village in Seongju county, North Gyeongsang province. Four more THAAD launchers were delivered to an unidentified US military base in South Korea, but the delivery was not reported to President Moon Jae-in who took office on May 10.
