CHINESE MILITARY VETERANS COMPLAIN:

Grievances over military pensions and perceived poor treatment of veterans have been a long-running issue, and have at times led to organized protests.

More than 1,000 veterans also demonstrated outside Defence Ministry headquarters in Beijing in 2016, and reports of protests in parts of the country surface every few months.

Demobilized soldiers who protested have included some who fought against Vietnam in 1979 — China’s last major foreign military engagement — and complained about problems with their pensions.

Until now the protests have received little notice.