Customs officials in the southwestern province of Yunnan announced on Sunday they had seized smuggled liquid opium for the first time. Over 7 kilograms were found over the weekend on two men about to board a train at Luxi station in Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture.

A three-year anti-drug and AIDS prevention campaign was launched in Dehong earlier this year, where 25,280 people are known to be dependent on drugs -- at 2.41 percent of the local population, the highest rate in the country.

"Time is crucial in curbing the spread of drug use and HIV/AIDS," said Liu Wusan, vice governor of the prefecture. "The estimated 14,000 students who fail to go to middle school and university each year are particularly at risk."

The prefecture shares a 503.8 kilometer-boundary with Myanmar, thought to be the main route for illicit drugs entering China. The suspects found with the opium said they had got it from a man from Myanmar and were to sell it on to Chinese dealers.

Local police said it is easy and inexpensive to buy drugs here as it is near to their source and because dealers are very active.

Most users over 50 years old have substituted opium for heroin, others become users because drugs are traditionally used as medicines to cure illnesses according to local customs.

Young people lack knowledge of the risks involved, and there has been little effective preventive education. They make up the great majority of drug users, and most are illiterate or semiliterate.

Injecting drug use greatly facilitates the spread of HIV, and the first positive diagnosis among drug users in Dehong was made in the late 1980s. Ignorant of the dangers and fearful of hurting Dehong's image, the local government did not make it public until 1999.

By the end of last year, 8,124 people were reported to be HIV positive or to have AIDS, 90 percent of whom were drug users.

"The situation would not be in such a mess if the local government had been open about it earlier," said Duan Yijung, director of the AIDS Prevention and Treatment Center affiliated to the Center for Disease Prevention and Control in Ruili, Dehong. "Many of the people who became infected had no idea how serious the situation was, so did not take precautions."

The new program involves over 1,500 officials working at different levels in 333 villages and 26 communities and farms.

"We visit houses one by one to persuade and help drug users to stop," said Zhou Wenbin, vice director of Dehong's Sub-Police Station, "At night, we organize showings of feature films for villagers, including anti-drug films."

The villagers have responded positively, since many have not seen a film in over ten years.

Zhou said he and his colleagues are helping villagers set up anti-drug teams and to get anti-drug compacts signed with everyone. They also help villagers find other ways to make a living.

Central government has earmarked 800 million yuan (US$97 million) to the provincial government to help bring the situation under control.

(China.org.cn by Unisumoon April 19, 2005)