Article 25 The rank promotion of reserve officers shall be conducted as prescribed below：

（l） Where an officer has been approved to be released from active service and transferred to reserve service， if the prescribed interval for rank promotion has expired and the specified requirement have been satisfied， his reserve rank may be one grade higher than his rank when he was in active service；

（2） Where a reserve officer has been appointed to a higher post grade and his rank is lower than the lowest rank by virtue of his new post grade， he shall be promoted ahead of time to the lowest rank by virtue of his new post grade；

（3） Where reserve officers from reserve Second Lieutenant to reserve Colonel meet the specified requirements and the prescribed intervals for rank promotion， their reserve ranks may be promoted grade by grade by virtue of their post grades.

（4） Where reserve Senior Colonels are promoted to reserve Major Generals， selective promotion shall be practised.

（5） Where reserve officers have made outstanding contributions during their performance of military service， their reserve ranks may be promoted ahead of schedule.

The requirements， intervals and procedures for promotion of reserve ranks shall be prescribed by the Central Military Commission.

Article 26 The rank promotion of reserve officers shall be approved in accordance with the limits of authority prescribed below：

（l） The promotion from reserve Senior Colonel to reserve Major General or from reserve Colonel to reserve Senior Colonel shall be approved by the Chairman of the Central Military Commission；

（2） The promotion from reserve Lieutenant Colonel to reserve Colonel shall be approved by the heads of units at the level of major military command；

（3） The promotion from reserve Major to reserve Lieutenant Colonel or from reserve Captain to reserve Major shall be approved by the heads of units at the corps level that have the power to appoint and remove officers.

（4） The promotion from reserve Lieutenant to reserve Captain or from reserve Second Lieutenant to reserve Lieutenant shall be approved by the heads of units at the divisional level that have the power to appoint and remove officers.

Article 27 Any reserve officer who has violated military discipline may be punished by demotion in rank in accordance with the relevant regulations of the Central Military Commission. The limits of authority for approving the demotion in rank for reserve officers shall be the same as those for approving the conferment of the rank.

The demotion in rank for reserve officers shall not be applicable to reserve officers with the rank of reserve Second Lieutenant.

Article 28 Where a person has been deprived of his status as a reserve officer， his reserve rank shall be annulled. The limits of authority for approving the annulment of a reserve rank shall be the same as those for approving the conferment of the rank.

Article 29 Where a reserve officer has committed a crime and has been deprived of his political rights or sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of three years or more in accordance with law， he shall be deprived of his reserve rank. The limits of authority for approving the deprivation of a reserve rank shall be the same as those for approving the conferment of the rank.

Article 30 Where a reserve officer has been retired from reserve service， his rank shall be preserved and prefixed with “retired”。

Article 3l Patterns of epaulets and insignias for reserve ranks and the ways of wearing them shall be promulgated by the Central Military Commission.

Chapter V Registration and Call-up of Reserve Officers

Article 32 The registration of reserve officers shall be conducted by the people's armed forces departments at the county level.

Persons who have been released from active service and assigned to be transferred to the reserve of officers shall be registered as reserve officers at the time when they check in at the local departments in charge of their resettlement affairs； other persons shall be registered as reserve officers at the same time when they have been assigned to serve in the reserve of officers.

Persons who work in State organs， public organizations， enterprises or institutions and have been assigned to serve in the reserve of officers shall register as reserve officers with the people's armed forces departments at the county level in the regions where their work units are located， other persons who have been assigned to serve in the reserve of officers shall register as reserve officers with the people's armed forces departments at the county level in the regions where they made household registration.

Article 33 Reserve officers who need to change the places of their registration as reserve officers due to the transfer of their work or the change of their residence shall go through the procedures of transferring their registration of reserve service out from the original places， and shall， within 30 days from their arrival at the new work units or the new residence， go through the procedures of transferring their registration in at the people's armed forces departments at the county level in the regions where they work or reside.

Article 34 Where reserve officers fall into one of the following circumstances， their registration as reserve officers shall be cancelled by the people's armed forces departments at the county level：

（l） having been retired from reserve service；

（2） having settled down abroad；

（3） having been dead； or

（4） having been deprived of the status as a reserve officer.

Article 35 The people's armed forces departments at the county level shall make annual checks on the registered reserve officers in their respective administrative regions in accordance with the relevant regulations， and the statistics so obtained shall be reported to higher authorities level by level.

Article 36 Reserve officers shall report for duty at the designated places within the prescribed time after they have received the notice for call- up； in case anyone is unable for the time being to respond to the call because of injury， sickness or other reasons， his call-up may be postponed， provided the case has been verified by the people's armed forces department at the county level and approved by the organ of military service at the next higher level.

Chapter VI Training of Reserve Officers

Article 37 Where persons who have never served in active service nor received military professional training have been selected to be reserve officers， they shall take such training before their post grades for reserve officers are determined.

Article 38 Reserve officers shall receive military training and political education during their term of reserve service in compliance with the provisions of the Military Service Law and the present Law.

Article 39 The State Council and the Central Military Commission may， when necessary， decide that emergency training shall be conducted with respect to reserve officers. Reserve officers must receive such emergency training as prescribed.

Article 40 Programs for military training and plans for political education for reserve officers shall be formulated by the General Staff the General Political Department and the General Logistics Department of the People's Liberation Army.

Article 4l The training of reserve officers who hold posts in reserve components or are pre-listed as officers for active components shall be organized and conducted by the units in which they serve； the training of other reserve officers shall be organized and conducted by the organs of military service. The work units of reserve officers and the departments concerned of the local people's governments shall provide assistance in this connection.

Chapter VII Benefits and Treatment for Reserve Officers

Article 42 The actual achievements made by reserve officers in their performance of military duties shall be taken as one of the criteria by their work units in the promotion of their posts or the increase in their wages.

Reserve officers who have been awarded citations for merit or conferred honourable titles shall enjoy the same rewards and preferential treatment as granted by the State or local authorities to persons who have been awarded such citations for merit or conferred such honourable titles.

Article 43 Reserve officers shall be dressed as required when they participate in military training or carry out military duties. On the occasion of taking part in important celebration activities such as on the National Day and the Army Day. they may wear reserve officers uniforms with epaulets and insignias indicating their reserve ranks.

Article 44 During the period when reserve officers working in State organs， public organizations， enterprises or institutions are participating in military training or carrying out military duties， their wages and bonuses shall be paid in full by their work units， and the benefits and treatment they are entitled to shall not be affected.

Reserve officers other than those referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be given subsidies for their loss of working time during the period when they are participating in military training or carrying out military duties.

Specific measures and standards therefor shall be stipulated by the people's governments of the provinces， autonomous regions or municipalities directly under the Central Government.

When reserve officers participate in military training or carry out military duties. food allowances shall be provided and their to-and-fro traveling expenses reimbursed in accordance with the regulations of the State.

Article 45 Reserve officers who participate in military training and accomplish training tasks as required shall be given appropriate subsidies on the basis of their post grades. Standards of subsidies shall be formulated by the Ministry of Finance jointly with the General Staff， the General Political Department and the General Logistics Department of the People's Liberation Army， and the funds thus needed shall be guaranteed by the Central Government.

Article 46 Where reserve officers have died or become disabled in the course of their performance of military activities such as military training and military duties， the relevant affairs shall be handled with reference to the regulations of the State in respect of pensions and preferential treatment granted to the families of the deceased servicemen or to the disabled servicemen.

Chapter Ⅷ Retirement of Reserve Officers

Article 47 Reserve officers shall be retired from reserve service when they have attained the maximum age for reserve service in peacetime.

Article 48 The maximum age for reserve service of operational， political and logistics reserve officers in peacetime shall be：

55 for reserve officers at the divisional level；

55 for reserve officers at the regimental level；

50 for reserve officers at the battalion level，

45 for reserve officers at the company level； and

40 for reserve officers at the platoon level.

The maximum age for reserve service in peacetime may be appropriately extended for a small number of reserve officers， provided this is necessitated by work and duly approved however， the maximum age shall not be extended for more than 5 years.

Article 49 The maximum age for reserve service of specialized technical officers in peacetime shall be：

60 for specialized technical reserve officers at the senior level；

55 for specialized technical reserve officers at the intermediate level； and

50 for specialized technical reserve officers at the junior level.

Article 50 Reserve officers who brave not reached the maximum age for reserve service in peacetime shall be retired from reserve service when they are unable to continue to perform reserve service due to their injuries， sickness， disability or other reasons.

Article 51 The limits of authority for approving the retirement of reserve officers from reserve service shall be the same as those prescribed in paragraph 3 of Article l5 of the present Law.

Chapter IX Legal Liability

Article 52 Any reserve officer who has violated discipline during the period when he is participating in military training or carrying out military duties shall be given administrative sanctions in accordance with the relevant regulations of the Central Military Commission； those whose act has constituted a crime shall be investigated for criminal responsibility according to law.

Article 53 Any reserve officer who has refused or evaded the registration or military training and refused to correct their mistakes after persuasion shall be compelled to perform his obligations of military service by the local people's government.

In wartime， any reserve officer who has refused or evaded the call-up or military training shall be investigated for criminal responsibility according to law if the circumstances are serious.

Article 54 Whoever， in his work of the administration of reserve officers， takes bribes， engages in malpractices for selfish ends or causes serious losses to work of reserve service because of his dereliction of duty shall be investigated for criminal responsibility according to law if the case constitutes a crime， or shall be given administrative sanctions if the case does not constitute a crime.

Whoever obstructs reserve officers from participating in military training， carrying out military duties or performing other obligations of military service shall be ordered by the local people's government to make rectification， where no rectification is made， administrative sanctions shall be given according to law to the persons who are directly responsible for the case.

Chapter X Supplementary Provisions

Article 55 The present Law shall apply to the persons released from active service in the Chinese People's Armed Police Force and assigned to reserve service as reserve officers of the People's Liberation Army.

Article 56 The present Law shall come into force as of January l， 1996.