Do mercenaries have legal status in China?

China does not recognize the legal status of mercenaries, nor does it recognize mercenaries internationally.

According to the definition of mercenaries in Geneva Convention, we can see their identity, so mercenaries definitely have no legal status in China.

1. Foreign mercenaries should not have the right to be combatants or prisoners of war.

2. Mercenaries refer to:

(1) Specially recruiting people to participate in armed conflicts locally or abroad;

(2) direct participation in hostilities in fact;

(3) The motive of participating in hostilities is mainly to pursue self-interest. In fact, one party to the conflict promises to give more material rewards than the combatants with similar ranks and responsibilities in its armed forces;

(4) They are neither nationals of one party to the conflict nor residents of the territory controlled by one party to the conflict;

(5) Persons who are not members of the armed forces of a party to the conflict;

(6) Personnel sent by a country that is not a party to the conflict to perform official duties as members of its armed forces.

Extended data

The history of mercenaries

When it comes to the history of mercenaries, we can even trace it back to ancient Greece. At that time, the ancient Greeks once hired Macedonians to defend their capital; In order to defend their empire, the Romans also used Germanic tribes to attack enemies from the East. In the American Civil War, Germans with rich hunting experience were also employed by the two armies.

There are two main types of mercenaries in the world now. One is regular mercenaries, such as French foreign troops; The other is private mercenaries. The nature of private mercenaries is very different from the formal mercenaries in the form of the state, and it is a mercenary market operated by "hiring companies".

Baidu encyclopedia-mercenary