More than 10,000 people participated in a march from the Summer
Palace, representative of China's suffering in the Opium War 165
years ago, to the China Millennium Monument, a symbol of the
country's 5,000-year-old civilization, to promote public awareness
against drugs.
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The 12-kilometer two-hour long march was one of the many nationwide
activities to commemorate the UN-sponsored International Anti-Drug
Day on Sunday.
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Through strengthened efforts to clamp down on drugs, Beijing seized
more than 30 kilograms of drugs in about 350 cases during the
January-May period this year. In 2004, authorities seized about 73
kilograms of drugs in some 1,800 cases, said Ma Zhenchuan, director
of the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau.?
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Southwest China's Chongqing
Municipality razed more than 500 kilograms of seized drugs on
Sunday, including heroin, opium, stimulant pills and "ice".
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About 500 representatives from all walks of life participated in
the ceremony and signed on a hundred-meter long scroll to show
their support for the fight against drug abuse and
trafficking.
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Chongqing municipal police has cracked 7,398 drug cases, involving
214 kilograms of drugs and 5,788 offenders in the past year.
Chongqing, China's youngest municipality that hugs the Yangtze
River is a drug trafficking hub.
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In Lhasa, the capital of southwestern China's Tibet
Autonomous Region, anti-drug campaigners burnt about 500
kilograms of seized drugs.
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The drugs set ablaze included 67 kilograms of heroin, 320 kilograms
of poppy shell and seed, and 133 kilograms of narcotics distilled
from hemp.
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Tibet has strengthened its anti-drug measures, achieving some
success, but it still faces a tough challenge because it is in
between the "Golden Triangle" comprising Laos, Thailand and
Myanmar, and the "Golden Crescent" of Pakistan, Afghanistan and
Iran, said Lei Jinxiang, deputy director of the Tibet Autonomous
Regional Public Security Department.
Also on Sunday, Beijing opened two hotlines to provide
information on drug rehabilitation through labor. Those requiring
information on the subject can dial 1600225 or 010-60279522,
according to the Beijing Reeducation Through Labor Administration
under the Beijing Municipal Prison Administration.
(Xinhua News Agency June 27, 2005)