BEIJING — China is considering drafting a law on veterans welfare and a guideline on the work related to veterans in the new era, minister of veterans affairs Sun Shaocheng said on July 31.

The Ministry of Veterans Affairs is reviewing all policies and regulations regarding veterans affairs since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, Sun told a news briefing by the State Council Information Office.

China has decided to issue plaques of honor before May 1, 2019 to tens of millions of families who had or have loved ones in military service, Sun said. The plaques had been reserved only for families of martyrs and volunteer military personnel.

The ministry will help more than 80,000 ex-servicemen and women and nearly 40,000 veterans find jobs this year, the minister said.

The ministry, which was inaugurated in April, is a new establishment in the wide-ranging Party and state institutional reform.

According to a circular issued last week by the Ministry of Veterans Affairs and the Ministry of Finance, pension allowances for disabled soldiers, police officers, state officials, and militia members as well as for family members of martyrs and deceased soldiers will increase by 10 percent from Aug 1, China’s Army Day.