国内英语新闻:China honors retired officers for civilian performance

BEIJING, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese government held a ceremony here on Tuesday to honor 161 retired military officers for outstanding performance in their civilian posts.

Meeting these veterans, Chinese President Xi Jinping encouraged them to carry on the legacy of their service in the armed forces and work to realize the Chinese dream.

Many retired officers have contributed a lot to the country's development and become role models in terms of upholding socialist values, said Xi, who is a retired officer himself.

Another 145 government departments and institutions were honored for helping retired officers settle in civilian life.

For decades, the government arranged jobs for retired officers. However, in recent years, it has been trying to introduce more flexible and efficient policies to ease them back into civilian life.

Xi promised to continue reforming the system.

Liu Yunshan, a Standing Committee member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, told the ceremony that the country needs joint efforts from Party and government departments, armed forces and private sectors to better arrange the lives of retired officers.

The government and armed forces will try their best to reform and improve the current employment policies, Liu vowed.

He also urged the officers to carry on good traditions of the armed forces and choose to work in positions in which they can be of most service to China.

Premier Li Keqiang also attended the ceremony.