Central Guard Regiment

The Central Guard Unit (CGU; PLA Unit 61889), formerly known as the Central Guard Regiment (CGR; PLA Unit 8341) is a unit of the People's Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF) of the People's Republic of China responsible for providing security to senior members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), including the General Secretary, the Politburo, and Central Committee as well as ministers and members of the State Council. It is a powerful political tool for the paramount leader as it can control access to, and conduct surveillance on, its charges. The CGR is formally subordinated to the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission but political and operation control is exercised by the party through the Central Guard Bureau (CGB) of the General Office of the Central Committee (CGO); CGB deputy directors concurrently hold leadership positions in the CGR. The PLA handles personnel management, training, and logistics. The CGR has used multiple Military Cover Unit Designators (MCUD). It was known as Unit 8341 or 8341 Special Regiment as part of the 9th Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security at the time of Mao Zedong's death, and Unit 57003 afterwards. More recently, it has been known as Unit 61889.