Q: It is reported that a majority of drugs produced in
the Golden Triangle are smuggled into China. What is your response
to these reports? What is the status of China's anti-drug campaign,
and what efforts are underway to strengthen cooperation with
neighboring countries in cracking down on drug-related
crimes?
A: Currently, affected by the international flow of narcotics
and aggravated by domestic drug-related factors, the war on drugs
remains a grim job in China. This is manifested in the multiple
sources of narcotics, diversified forms of drug abuse and tight
chain of drug production, sale and abuse, especially in southeast
China, where the clandestine manufacturing and sale of crystal
methamphetamine hydrochloride, known locally as "ice," and MDMA, or
amphetamine tablets, are rampant. These drug manufacturers and
pushers are everywhere and keep shifting their operations across
the region.
At the same time, international drug traffickers, with multiple
sources of narcotics, keep penetrating the Chinese territory
through various smuggling routes. The Golden Triangle, one of the
world's leading sources of opium and heroin, poses the greatest
threat to China. The notorious triangle produces 70 to 80 tons of
heroin annually, of which 80 percent is smuggled through the border
of Myanmar and China into the inland Chinese market, by way of
vehicle, body cavity concealment, mail delivery and other methods.
In 2003, China cracked 156 drug-related cases, seizing 4.13 tons of
drugs, of which all heroin was from the Golden Triangle.
Afghanistan, which borders China on the northwest and produced more
than 4,000 tons of opium in 2004, poses even greater harm and
potential threat. As well, new types of narcotics keep penetrating
China's southeast coast. The anti-drug situation in the country
remains grim.
The spread of drugs jeopardizes not only the mental and physical
health of the people, but also the stability of the Chinese
economy, politics and society. The drug problem, associated with
international terrorism and separatism illegal organizations,
corruption, money laundering and other crimes, seriously endangers
the security and social stability of China.
In 2004, the Chinese Government launched a nationwide anti-drug
campaign, cracking 98,000 drug-related cases and arresting 66,900
suspects, an increase of 4.4 percent and 5.5 percent respectively
over the precious year. Seized during the campaign were 10.8 tons
of heroin, up 13.6 percent over 2003, more than 3 million MDMA
tablets, an increase of 8 percent, 2.7 tons of crystal
methamphetamine, down 52.9 percent, and 160 tons of chemicals used
to manufacture drugs, up 119.8 percent. Due to these anti-drug
efforts, the drug supply-demand balance has been disturbed, and the
rising trend of drug-related crimes has been brought under
control.
In order to effectively check the threats to China from the
Golden Triangle, sub-East Asia and elsewhere, the Chinese
Government has devoted itself to regional and bilateral anti-drug
cooperation with countries surrounding the triangle, and
established in succession three anti-drug cooperative mechanisms.
One involves six countries—China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand
and Viet Nam—and one party, the Bangkok-based Regional Center for
East Asia and the Pacific under the United Nations Office on Drugs
and Crime. Another cooperative mechanism joins the member countries
of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and the final
mechanism links China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and India. Under
these frameworks, China has conducted inter-country cooperation in
the form of information exchanges, collaborative investigations,
joint anti-drug actions, and the training of anti-narcotics
squads.
As well, China is expanding bilateral cooperation with Myanmar,
Thailand, the Philippines, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia
and some European and North American countries regarding anti-drug
information and investigations, cracking down on transnational
drug-trafficking and promoting gradual solutions to the drug
problem haunting neighboring countries. At the same time, China is
further strengthening communication and cooperation with
international anti-drug organizations, fulfilling its obligations
under international conventions and promoting an active and
pragmatic approach for cooperation on the drug issue.
Currently, China is tightening its legal system by speeding up
the legislation of an anti-narcotics law, and promoting
administrative regulations on chemicals used to manufacture drugs
and on stupefying and psychiatric narcotics.
Police officers set confiscated drugs on
fire in Kunming, Yunnan Province.
