ABSTRACT
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) since the Thirteenth Party Congress has basically been concerned, first, with continuing the processes of streamlining and reform begun by Teng Hsiao-p'ing nearly a decade before and, second, with solving problems that have stemmed out of the reforms themselves. PLA delegates to the NFC meeting as a group to discuss their grievances with high-ranking military and civil affairs officials, may become an institutionalized mechanism which will reflect the military's enhanced corporate consciousness. One area in which the enhanced corporate consciousness of the PLA may already have become evident was the emergence of demands that the civilian sector of the country understand the importance of and the need for a strong national defense. Several additions to the PLA's arsenal have been made since the Thirteenth Party Congress, reflecting prior research, development, and construction. Continuation of the military reforms begun a decade earlier has characterized the agenda of the PLA in the period following the.
