This is the first book-length scholarly work on veterans in the People's Republic of China and, therefore, a welcome addition to the limited literature on the subject. The author has two main purposes in writing this book. Firstly, the book is intended to address what the author sees as a scarcity of research on veterans as a social and political group in political science and in the social sciences generally. Greater focus on veterans and veteran concerns can provide new insights into issues such as the legitimacy of past conflicts, nationalism, and the competition between interest groups for state benefits and recognition. Second, the book is a case study of Chinese veterans and what their treatment by state and society tells us about the nature of politics in China and Chinese patriotism and nationalism.
The book draws heavily on archival material from Shanghai, Beijing and Shandong as well as local newspapers and gazetteers. Most of the book focuses on the Maoist period 1949–78. Chapter two focuses on veterans and residency rights, especially veteran demands to resettle in urban areas. Chapter three examines the differing views of the veteran status and identity. Chapter four examines the experiences of veterans in the workplace. Chapter five analyses how veterans have interacted with the state's bureaucracy. Chapter six discusses health and family issues related to veterans. Chapter seven examines the relations between the military families and state and society. Only in Chapter eight is there an extensive treatment of veterans in the post-Mao era.
The book argues that while PLA veterans have received benefits and privileges, the reality is that throughout the history of the People's Republic, Chinese veterans and their families often experienced poor treatment and abuse from local officials and the general public. Despite the role of the PLA in the Maoist state and the role of PLA veterans as heroes of the revolution, Diamant documents a consistent pattern of discrimination in terms of jobs, residential rights, medical care and so forth. He finds that this pattern of neglect holds for all Chinese veterans whether they are veterans of the revolution and the war against Japan (1927–49) or the wars against India (1962) and Vietnam (1979).
Diamant explores the gap between official rhetoric and the actual treatment of veterans; an important part of the book is its comparative analysis of what conditions lead to better, or worse, treatment of veterans. Diamant raises a number of intriguing arguments about why the nature of the Chinese Revolution led to poor treatment of the revolution's military heroes.
Another key component of the book's argument is that the problems faced by Chinese veterans raise important questions about the nature of Chinese nationalism and patriotism, and the legitimacy of the regime. Diamant uses the treatment of veterans in everyday life and the attitudes towards veterans expressed by local officials and ordinary citizens as a proxy for assessing regime legitimacy, arguing that the treatment of veterans is an indirect comment on the “legitimacy and rightness of the cause they represent” (p.34). Diamant further suggests that attitudes towards veterans indicate that patriotism in China is poorly developed.
Diamant's discussion of nationalism, patriotism and Chinese veterans will certainly be challenged by some. In many places he appears to be getting ahead of the evidence in his questioning of just how nationalist and patriotic Chinese are. Nevertheless, he raises provocative questions that will serve to enlighten debate on Chinese nationalism and what it means for Chinese society.
Overall, the book sheds much-needed light on an understudied topic. Diamant does an excellent job of using archival material to improve our understanding of Chinese veterans in the Maoist era and adds to our understanding of politics and social issues in that era. His chapter on the post-Mao era raises issues, such as the role of veterans in protests, that have been discussed elsewhere but merit further research and discussion. The book also does a good job of bringing in examples from the US, Israel, Vietnam, the Soviet Union, Germany and Britain to provide a comparative context for his analysis of veterans issues in China. The author clearly has a passion for this topic. He is deeply concerned with veterans and how they are treated, whether in China or elsewhere. Hopefully it will encourage further research and bring more scholarly attention to the comparative study of veterans' issues.
