A Hundred Year History of Drug Control in China

In the early Qing Dynasty, a large number of Chinese people smoked opium, from officials to civilians, and it became a common practice. Opium erodes the body, spirit, and property of the Chinese people, and a war against drugs begins in China.

In 1729, Emperor Yongzheng issued the world's first opium ban.

During the reign of Emperor Daoguang, one day in the early morning of his reign, the emperor sat on a dragon chair and proclaimed that "all the ministers were equal.". At this moment, half of the people in the lower hall could not stand up. Emperor Daoguang thought that the ministers were obedient and cautious, so he once again ordered them to stand up. The ministers in the lower hall were unsteady and unable to stand up. When asked, Emperor Daoguang was furious. The smoking ban movement is imperative.

In 1939, Emperor Daoguang issued an edict to ban opium and issued the "Regulations on the Prohibition of Opium Smoking". He appointed Lin Zexu, the Governor General of Hubei and Guangxi, as an imperial envoy to Guangdong to investigate and deal with opium smuggling. He confiscated 2.37 million kilograms of opium and concentrated it on the beach near Humen for destruction. This move strongly deterred illegal officials and foreign opium traffickers. But the shocking Humen destructed opium sales did not completely eradicate the harm of drugs.

In 1912, Sun Yat sen became the interim president of the Republic of China and issued a decree prohibiting opium to the whole country. However, due to frequent internal conflicts and external threats, the smoking ban was restricted to some extent. The adverse effects brought by opium continued until the Republic of China period, when the entire country was filled with skinny "smokers".

After the establishment of the People's Republic of China, the government decided to thoroughly eradicate this cancer that made modern Chinese people become "sick men of East Asia". The State Council of the Central People's Government has issued the "Prohibition of Opium Smoking and Poisoning Order".

In just three years, significant results have been achieved, with most regions of the country implementing bans on opium cultivation and basically eliminating the scourge of opium addiction that has plagued the country for over a hundred years. In the following decades, several anti drug laws were successively promulgated, and the fight against drugs relied on the power of the people. From the 1950s to the late 1970s, New China was renowned worldwide as a "drug free country" for nearly thirty years. This is a universally recognized miracle in the history of world drug control.

In the 1980s, with the reform and opening up, drugs made a comeback. Pingyuan Street in Yunnan Province became the largest drug distribution center in China at that time, using sea transportation to smuggle and sell drugs to various parts of the world. The residents of Pingyuan Street took the lead in poverty alleviation and prosperity in the 1980s when their per capita income was only 300 yuan.

On August 30, 1992, the Pingyuan Street crackdown officially kicked off, with a total of over 3000 troops participating in the battle. The final operation lasted 81 days, capturing 854 criminals, confiscating over 1000 firearms of various types, and discovering over 1000 kilograms of drugs, achieving remarkable results.

In December 2007, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress passed the Drug Control Law of the People's Republic of China, providing strong guarantees for comprehensively strengthening drug control work under the new situation, demonstrating the consistent position and firm determination of the Chinese government to strictly implement drug control, which is an important milestone in the history of drug control in China.

On December 29, 2013, another large-scale anti drug operation, "Thunder Anti Drug", was officially shut down in Boshe Village, Guangdong Province, which was then the "First Drug Manufacturing Village". 182 drug traffickers were arrested, 77 drug factories were destroyed, 2.9 tons of methamphetamine were seized, and 23 tons of drug raw materials were seized.

Through unremitting efforts, China's drug control work has achieved remarkable results in recent years. We will continue to carry out the special action of "de icing and drug elimination" and have zero tolerance for domestic drug manufacturing crimes in China. Adhere to cluster zero tolerance, cut off drug transfer, distribution and distribution channels, and eradicate the drug retail market. The "nail pulling pursuit and escape" campaign has made every effort to apprehend drug traffickers and eradicate a large number of malignant tumors that pose a threat to China both inside and outside the border. We will implement comprehensive governance, create a new model for drug related governance of mailing and delivery, and effectively prevent and contain drug related activities of "Internet plus mailing and delivery". Adhering to the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind, we will extensively carry out international drug law enforcement cooperation, especially strengthening law enforcement cooperation with neighboring countries such as Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, and Cambodia. For six consecutive years, we will carry out the "Safe Passage" joint drug campaign and jointly crack down on multiple influential transnational drug trafficking cases.

The 180 year history of drug control in China, which began with the destructed opium in Humen, shows the patriotic enthusiasm and firm determination of the Chinese nation and the Chinese people to fight against drugs. If drugs are not eliminated every day, the fight against drugs will not be slackened.