PLA Troops in Macao to Conduct Rotation

The garrison troops of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) stationed in the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) will conduct a normal troop rotation on December 23.

PLA garrison troops assumed Macao's defense duties as of December 20, 1999.

The rotation will be carried out in line with the Garrison Law of the Macao SAR, which stipulates a personnel rotation system for garrison troops.

The PLA garrison troops in Macao expressed sincere thanks to the Macao SAR government and local residents for their great support and care, a military source said.

PLA SAR Garrison Brings Safety, Peace to Macao People

Many travelers, who visited Macao before it became a special administrative region (SAR) of China a year ago, would now find that lots of shops and restaurants are newly set up in the territory, especially in the surrounding areas of the Long Cheng Edifice.

Since December 20, 1999, when the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Macao SAR Garrison Troops moved in as one of the symbols for China to resume its exercise of sovereignty over Macao, Long Cheng has been used as temporary barracks for the troops headed by Commander Liu Yuejun and Political Commissar He Xianshu,both major generals.

The permanent barrack compounds are yet to be built for the troops.

"Both shop owners and shoppers feel safer with the stationing of the garrison troops," said Zhang Zhonghui, director of the political department of the garrison troops.

For years, criminal gangs and other severe criminals had been a lingering nightmare for the people of Macao, but things have changed greatly over the past year.

"The brave and mighty garrison troops have brought safety and peace to Macao," many Macao residents told Xinhua in street interviews. They called the PLA servicemen as a deterrence to gangsters.

On the other side, the garrison troops have turned out to be a new attraction for local civilians and tourists who often take pictures against the backdrops of servicemen, army vehicles, and the temporary barracks of the Macao SAR Garrison.

To outsiders, the garrison troops are living in a new, well-equipped building and armed with advanced weapons and facilities.

However, few people could imagine what difficulties and hardship the garrison troops face in fulfilling their defense duties and their oath of "keeping the motherland and Macao in mind."

In order to add no noise and trouble to local residents, the officers and soldiers have confined their movements in the temporary barracks most of the time, with all the windows curtained. In the early morning, while marching to a nearby seaside training ground, they refrain from shouting slogans as what they normally do in the inland PLA barracks.

To make better use of the limited space in Long Cheng, the servicemen have turned the corridors, bedrooms and even toilets into training sites. Beside the door of each bedroom lies an eye-catching, shining barbell.

Meanwhile, they also undertake on-line trainings based on the troops' intranet and conduct all live-fire drills and trainings at their inland base in neighboring Zhuhai City, southern Guangdong Province, according to the garrison sources.

Over the past year, the garrison troops have strictly followed the Basic Law and the law on the Macao SAR garrison. They report all their outdoor exercises in Macao to the SAR government in advance, as is required by the law.

In view of the reality and situation in the territory, the garrison troops have focused their military trainings and exercises on air defense, fight against riots and disaster control, according to officers.

In addition to their defense mission, the garrison troops have also participated in local charitable activities, including donations of blood and money to help the needed. On May 9 this year, the two generals led 108 officers and soldiers, who were proved to be qualified donors, and each of them donated 400 mm of blood to local hospitals in Macao.

In return, local residents have showed their hospitality, care and love to the garrison troops by sending comfort letters or trying to donate goods to the garrison troops. To improve the troops' training conditions, the SAR government recently allocated two pieces of land gratis to the troops.

The officers and soldiers hold the same opinion that without the backing by the whole of the Chinese people and the central government as well as the assistance from the people of Macao and the SAR government, it is impossible for the troops to accomplish its mission.








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