BEIJING, Jan 27 (Reuters) - China has started paying "subsidies" to participants in its past nuclear test explosions as part of a general rise in welfare for former military staff, state media reported.

China exploded its first nuclear test device in 1964 and continued test blasts until 1996, when the government announced a moratorium on the programme based in the far western region of Xinjiang.

But only now has China said that people close to the radioactive explosions have begun receiving subsidies.

The Minister for Civil Affairs, Li Xueju, said "participants of nuclear tests", military and civilian, had begun receiving the payments from 2007, the official Xinhua news agency reported late on Saturday.

The ministry handles some of China's welfare policies for former soldiers.

China shrouds its atomic weapons programme in secrecy, and it is unclear what prompted the announcement or whether the payments cover medical costs for civilian residents and military personnel possibly affected by the blasts.

But in recent years, retired military personnel have petitioned and sometimes protested, complaining of poor job opportunities and welfare after they have left the People's Liberation Army.

Li said that last year the government allocated about 1 billion yuan ($139 million) to help former soldiers open businesses or receive job training, Xinhua reported. (Reporting by Chris Buckley; Editing by David Fogarty)

AlertNet news is provided by