(Ecns.cn)--The 3,000 yuan ($464) bankbook is a treasure to Zheng Zixuan, a 93-year-old veteran in Zixing, Hunan Province.
The deposit was issued in September 2010 as a governmental allowance to all veterans who had fought in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1937-1945).
However, it is special to Zheng due to his dual identities: a fighter in the war and a soldier of the Kuomintang (KMT).
"I can give up any other allowances but this one," said another KMT veteran. "This is the approval and respect of our country."
In Zixing, 24 people altogether have received the allowance, including 10 KMT veterans.
"We should put the governmental policies concerning allowances to veterans into practice as soon as possible to help them enjoy their life," said Li Tianliang, chairman of the Labor Union of the city's Civil Affairs Bureau.
"The veterans are aged and not good in health," added Li. "Maybe next year the number of them will decrease."
In fact, when the allowances were first granted, they mainly went to veterans of the Communist Party. In Zixing though, thanks to the joint efforts of governmental and non-governmental forces, the KMT veterans were later able to join the beneficiaries.
A poor KMT veteran also played a key role in this, who, when he went to a summit in rags on September 12, 2010, touched then attendee Huang Shirong, vice-minister of United Front Work Department.
Huang felt for the veteran who was in such financial straits, and soon called the city's Civil Affairs Bureau to propose covering the KMT veterans in allowance.
Huang's proposal finally got approved. Since most of the profiles of the KMT veterans had been destroyed during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976)，the verifications of their identities were also loosened up. As long as the stories they told were true to history, they could be qualified as beneficiaries.
Moreover, many civil organizations are also playing an important part in helping the ever-decreasing KMT veterans. Many websites have been built by volunteers in a bid to find the veterans and help them as much as possible.
In 2010, volunteer Wang Haining designed some coins themed with the 65th anniversary of the war， which he gave to every KMT veteran he could find.
Others also organized various activities to help the veterans fulfill their dreams.
After Japan surrendered in 1945, the Chinese Civil War resumed. In 1949, the KMT lost and retreated to Taiwan. As a result, many of its soldiers either surrendered or were killed and captured.
Later, however, the surrenderers were also granted allowances by the government, though of different amounts than the People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers.
A bankbook from one veteran shows that since January 2008, each KMT veteran was subsidized 30 yuan ($4.6) per month, compared to those of the PLA who could get 635 yuan ($98).
The 3,000 yuan assistance, according to the Civil Affairs Bureau, is a subsistence allowance, instead of a veteran's benefit—which is mainly for the disabled or sacrificed veterans and their dependents. Yet, the KMT veterans are a special group that lacks policy support. Thus, they should be given special consideration in allowances.
