The People’s Liberation Army General Political Department Political Warfare with Chinese Characteristics Mark Stokes and Russell Hsiao October 14, 2013 Cover image and below: Chinese nuclear test. Source: CCTV. | Chinese Peoples’ Liberation Army Political Warfare | About the Project 2049 Institute Cover image source: 997788.com. Above-image source: ekooo0.com The Project 2049 Institute seeks to guide Above-image caption: “We must liberate Taiwan” decision makers toward a more secure Asia by the century’s mid-point. The organization fills a gap in the public policy realm through forward-looking, region- specific research on alternative security and policy solutions. Its interdisciplinary approach draws on rigorous analysis of socioeconomic, governance, military, environmental, technological and political trends, and input from key players in the region, with an eye toward educating the public and informing policy debate. www.project2049.net 1 | Chinese Peoples’ Liberation Army Political Warfare | TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction…………………………………………………………………………….……………….……………………….3 Universal Political Warfare Theory…………………………………………………….………………..………………4 GPD Liaison Department History…………………………………………………………………….………………….6 Taiwan Liberation Movement…………………………………………………….….…….….……………….8 Ye Jianying and the Third United Front Campaign…………………………….………….…..…….10 Ye Xuanning and Establishment of GPD/LD Platforms…………………….……….…….……….11 GPD/LD and Special Channel for Cross-Strait Dialogue………………….……….……………….12 Jiang Zemin and Diminishment of GPD/LD Influence……………………….…….………..…….13 PLA Military Liaison Work…………………………………….…………………………………………..………..……14 GPD Organizational Structure………………………………….…………………………………………………..……17 Overview of the General Political Department……………………………….….……………………..18 GPD/LD Leadership and Organization…………………..……………………….………………………20 Military Region Liaison Departments……………….……………………………….…….……………..30 PLA Air Force and Navy Liaison Work……………………………………………….……..…………….31 Liaison Training and Education……………………………………………………………….…………….31 Military Liaison Work and CCP Systems………………………………………………….……….………………..31 Internal PLA Relations……………..…………………………………….………………….………………….32 United Front System………………………………………………………………….………..………………..33 CCP Propaganda System…………..………………………………………………….…….………………….35 External Affairs System……………………………………………………………….…….………………….36 State Security System………………………………………………………………….…..……….……………38 Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………………………..…………………………40 2 | Chinese Peoples’ Liberation Army Political Warfare | INTRODUCTION Political warfare is a critical component of Chinese security strategy and foreign policy.1 All nation-states seek to influence policies of others to varying degrees in order to secure their respective national interests. Political warfare seeks to influence emotions, motives, objective reasoning, and behavior of foreign governments, organizations, groups, and individuals in a manner favorable to one’s own political-military objectives. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) rely on political warfare as a means to shape and define the discourse of international relations. Chinese political warfare, or liaison work in contemporary PLA lexicon, has a rich tradition built upon centuries of military history. During the civil war between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Nationalist Party (Kuomintang; KMT), enemy and liaison work were critical means of undermining enemy morale and building domestic and international support. Since establishment of a subordinate Enemy Work Section in 1939, GPD has attempted to engineer the final political resolution of the Chinese civil war on CCP terms. The Republic of China (ROC; Taiwan) remains the primary target of PLA political warfare. Taiwan’s democratic system of government – an alternative to mainland China’s authoritarian model – presents an existential challenge to CCP political authority. With political legitimacy across the Taiwan Strait viewed as a zero-sum game within the international arena, authorities in Beijing have long sought the political subordination of the ROC to the PRC under a “One Country, Two Systems” principle. The GPD/LD plays a critical role in a coercive persuasion campaign intended to manipulate international perceptions of “One China” and undermine Taiwan’s international legitimacy. The object of CCP political warfare has extended beyond Taiwan. Guided by the doctrinal principle of “uniting with friends and disintegrating enemies,” political warfare adopts active measures to promote the rise of China within a new international order and defend against perceived threats to state security. Political warfare employs strategic psychological operations as a means of leading international discourse and influencing policies of friends and foes alike. Propaganda, carried out both during peacetime and in armed conflict, amplifies or attenuates the political effects of the military instrument of national power.2 A number of party and state organizations engage in political warfare. Under the leadership of the CCP Central Military Commission (CMC), however, the PLA General Political Department (GPD) Liaison Department (GPD/LD; 总政治部联络部) is the PLA’s principle political warfare command.3 GPD liaison work augments traditional state diplomacy and formal military-to-military relations, which are normally considered to be the most important aspects of international relations. For the PLA, however, traditional diplomacy is only one means of influence, and perhaps not the most significant. 3 | Chinese Peoples’ Liberation Army Political Warfare | Informed by a long tradition of “people’s diplomacy,” GPD/LD leverages a diverse set of non-governmental platforms in performing its mission. At least two appear under direct GPD/LD authority, one responsible for international friendly contact and the other for cross- Strait exchanges. Other platforms with GPD links are more opaque. For example, an extreme anti-American platform – the Dongfang Yi Cultural Expansion Association – appears to support GPD in development of concepts associated with “Three Warfares” – the integrated application of strategic psychological warfare, overt and covert media manipulation, and use of law in political warfare. GPD/LD functions as an interlocking directorate that operates at the nexus of politics, finance, military operations, and intelligence. GPD/LD and associated platforms are windows connecting elites from around the world with the CMC, and indirectly, the CCP Political Bureau Standing Committee, and an informal yet powerful political group referred to as “princelings.” Its leadership engages across a complex network of personalized relationships and implied associations. GPD/LD also appears to leverage relationships with institutional and personal executive assistants, or mishu, supporting senior civilian and military cadre.4 GPD/LD has few analogous counterparts in modern democratic societies. It often is cast as a member of China’s intelligence community. Indeed, an historical review reveals the co- evolution of CCP political warfare and clandestine intelligence operations. However, viewing liaison work exclusively in intelligence terms diminishes its relevance to U.S. political and military leaders and counterparts around the world. GPD/LD functions as a member of China’s broader political-military intelligence system. Its scope, however, appears limited to intelligence that may directly support political warfare, including development of psychological and social profiles of elites best positioned to influence foreign and defense policies. This monograph traces a complex network designed to influence policies of the U.S., Taiwan, and others around the world. Public information on GPD/LD has been limited, and assessing any country’s strategic influence operations can be a speculative endeavor. An examination of the organization, its history, missions, and relationships with other systems within the CCP bureaucracy may provide an initial framework within which to evaluate the PLA’s capacity for political warfare. UNIVERSAL POLITICAL WARFARE THEORY Contemporary PLA liaison work is influenced by Marxist-Leninist theory, tempered by traditional Chinese strategic culture, and informed by careful study of foreign political warfare experiences since World War II. While relatively significant in its scope and capabilities, political warfare is not unique to China. Political warfare seeks to influence emotions, motives, objective reasoning, and behavior of foreign governments, organizations, groups, and individuals in a manner favorable to one’s own objectives.5 4 | Chinese Peoples’ Liberation Army Political Warfare | Political warfare should be distinguished from public diplomacy. Put simply, public diplomacy is international political advocacy carried out in a transparent manner through routine media channels and public engagements. 6 Political warfare differs from public diplomacy in terms of target and intent. While public diplomacy seeks to influence opinions of mass audiences, political warfare involves a calculated manipulation of an opposing side’s strategies, defense policies, and broader international norms. As Michael Waller from the Institute of World Politics notes, political warfare is needed "when public relations statements and gentle, public diplomacy-style persuasion - the policies of “soft power” - fail to win the needed sentiments and actions.”7 Political warfare employs coercive persuasion to weaken an opponent’s