The Beijing Military Region (simplified Chinese: 北京军区; traditional Chinese: 北京軍區; pinyin: běijīng jūnqū) is one of seven military regions for the Chinese People's Liberation Army. It has administration of all military affairs within Beijing city, Tianjin city, Hebei province, Shanxi province, and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The Region is mainly responsible for defending the People's Republic of China from Mongolia and Russia, and also protects the capital of Beijing, with the largest number of military personnel of any of the seven regions.
The International Institute for Strategic Studies attributes the command with 300,000 personnel, consisting of three group armies (the 27th Army, 38th Army, and the 65th Army), two armoured divisions, one mechanised infantry division, five motorised divisions, one artillery division, three armoured, seven motorised infantry, four artillery, a total of five various anti-aircraft brigades, and one anti-tank regiment. The command is also augmented by the Capital Garrison, which consists of the 1st and 3rd Capital Garrison Divisions (Police), and is also home to the PLA Navy (PLAN) North Sea Fleet and the PLA Air Force (PLAAF) 10th Air Force Corps.
The commander of the military region resides in Beijing. The current commander is Lt. General Zhu Qi (朱启上将). He replaced Lt. General Li Xinliang in 2002. The Political Commissar is Du Tiehuan, presumably replacing Fu Yangui in 2002 also.[1]
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The Beijing Military Region traces its lineage to the establishment of the North China Military Region in May 1948. It was renamed the Beijing Military Region in 1955, when the Inner Mongolia Military Region was downgraded to a district, and was folded into the Beijing Military Region.
The Beijing Military Region is primarily charged with protecting the capital. Because of its location in the capital, the Beijing Military Region is the most important of the seven military regions. Each unit from the Beijing Military Region contributed forces to Beijing for the crackdown on the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, and these elements remained deployed in Beijing long after the initial assault on the unarmed demonstrators in the capital.[2]
In addition to guarding the capital, the Beijing Military Region is also in charge of training key personal for leadership positions through the numerous military academies in the region.
Commander Fang Fenghui (since July 2007)
Political Commissar Fu Tinggui (December 2003)
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