21. Nov 2009
Bonus for Tibet service
(Reuters) Guangzhou Daily reported that soldiers from the southern Chinese city who are newly assigned to the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) will get a "special allowance" for serving there. There are 240 soldiers from Guangzhou in a contingent of 520 from Guangdong province assigned to the TAR. "The whole province has a laid down a preferential policy for soldiers going to Tibet, and soldiers registered in Guangzhou who are posted to Tibet, will be able to get a special allowance of up to 160,000 Yuan (UK£14,220; US$23,430; EUR€15,770)", according to the report. The "special allowance" is paid by the local governments of their home towns to the families of recently enlisted soldiers to compensate for the loss of their labour, according to China Military Online, a website sponsored by the People's Liberation Army Daily. It varies depending on where the soldier is from, and where they are posted.