East Meets West | Mo Guanyao: Why does China actively participate in international cooperation for narcotics control?

In the modern world, the global narcotics problem has posed a major threat to the survival and development of human beings. When it comes to drugs, no country is immune and as such the anti-drug campaign requires the cooperation of every nation. China has always actively participated in international cooperation for drug control, playing an important role in global initiatives.

26 June 2022 marked the 35^th International Day against Drug Abuse. In Yunnan, China, the frontier of the country’s anti-drug campaign and the main battlefield, China News Agency interviewed Mo Guanyao, a professor at the School of Law and Sociology at Yunnan Normal University. He explained the motivations behind China's participation in narcotics control and the methods of international cooperation.

Photo courtesy of the interviewee.

Mo Guanyao is a professor at the School of Law and Sociology at Yunnan Normal University, a member of the expert database of the National Narcotics Control Office, a member of the China Anti-Drug Network think tank, a member of the China Association for Drug Abuse Prevention and Control, and a director of the Asian Society for Drug Abuse Research. He has more than 30 publications and textbooks to his name, including Narcotics Control Studies and Jurisprudence of Anti-Drug and Social Work on Narcotics Control. He has also participated in the drafting and revision of the Narcotics Control Law, and the Regulation on Drug Rehabilitation of China.

When and how did China's drug problem begin, and what impact have drugs had on China's historical process?

China’s drug problem began with the importation of opium during the Tang Dynasty (618–907). In the early years of the Tang Dynasty, Arab merchants gradually spread opium along the "Silk Road" of the northern land route as a tribute to the Chinese emperor. An important turning point in the drug problem came during the Ming Dynasty; with the increased trade between China and the West, there was also a rise in opium importation. In the middle and later years of the Ming Dynasty, opium was gradually being used for hedonic purposes rather than as a medicinal substance and it began to be dispersed among the people. Indeed, the Royal Court exuded an atmosphere of extravagance and indulgence. It was in these circumstances that opium became a "magical product" that aristocrats were keen to acquire. This was one of the factors behind the final collapse of the Ming Dynasty.

During the Qing Dynasty (1636–1912), even more opium was being imported into China. From the establishment of the British East India Company's opium policy in 1800 (the British East India Company established a monopoly on opium cultivation in the Indian province of Bengal, where they developed a method of growing opium poppies cheaply and abundantly) to the outbreak of the Opium War in 1839, the British-dominated colonists imported a total of 638,119 boxes of opium, resulting in a surge in the number of opium smokers in China with 25 million people now using this drug.

Statue of Lin Zexu in the Opium War Museum in Humen Town, Dongguan City, Guangdong Province. Credit: China News Agency, Song Haitao.

How has opium influenced Chinese attitudes towards drugs in modern times?

From a historical perspective, the Chinese believe that the drug problem is a major issue that threatens national security, territorial integrity, economic development, social stability, and the rise and fall of the nation. In fact, the Chinese people are deeply concerned about the harm caused by drugs, and China has always adhered to its policy of resolutely and severely punishing drug crimes.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the Chinese government launched a vigorous anti-drug campaign, and within three years the opium drug that had plagued the nation for many centuries had been banned.

However, China's southwest border province Yunnan is adjacent to the "Golden Triangle", one of the world's major sources of narcotics. Since the late 1970s, the international drug wave has pervaded China, and as a result there has been a revival of illegal and criminal activities relating to drug trafficking.

For more than 40 years, the Chinese government has endeavoured to confront this new drug problem. In fact, it has taken a highly responsible attitude towards the country, its people and indeed all mankind. China has adhered to its strict anti-drug stance and taken all the necessary measures to ban drugs as far as possible in order to benefit its citizens.

Chinese police destroy seized drugs. Credit: China News Agency, Yunnan Provincial Public Security Department.

China's anti-drug work is often carried out with the mantra "Everyone’s war against drugs". What are the characteristics of this policy?

The drug problem involves a variety of fields, including chemistry, medicine, sociology, law and social governance. The construction of the drug governance system and governance capacity is a complex, arduous and long-term social project. Scientific and effective construction activities should focus on strict, systematic and source governance. Moreover, they should also be comprehensive and legal.

Social governance of narcotics control is an important element of China's national governance system, and Narcotics Control Law clearly stipulates that "drug control is the common responsibility of the whole society". The "Everyone's war against drugs" slogan has become a unique feature of drug control in China and it can help the working mechanism with the broad participation of the people and the concept of social governance of drug control. It incorporates this social governance into the national governance system and thus becomes a decisive factor.

In 2005, China launched the first round of the people's war against drugs. It is now the fifth round and great results have been achieved. According to public reports since 2005, more than 10,800 drug cases have been solved in Yunnan, the frontier of China's anti-drug campaign and the main battlefield. It has been proven that launching a people's war against drugs is a successful way of giving full play to China's institutional and political advantages, and mobilising all forces to work together to solve the drug problem.

A simulated drug model used by the police in an anti-drug promotion campaign. Credit: China News Agency, Chen Chao.

How does China actively participate in global drug governance and comprehensively promote international cooperation in narcotics control?

In recent years, alongside the rapid development of economic globalisation and social informatisation, the global drug problem has also developed and spread. The number of countries and regions affected by drug-related issues has risen. At the same time, there are now different types of drugs, more variety and more drug users. As a consequence, drugs have become a major problem affecting human survival and development.

Against this background, there is less optimism about China's anti-drug policy. The Chinese government believes that drugs are a public danger to all mankind, and therefore narcotics control is an urgent and common responsibility of the international community. In order to promote the global anti-drug campaign and to fundamentally solve China's drug-using problem, it is vital that international anti-drug cooperation is strengthened. For this reason, China has always actively participated in international cooperation relating to drug control and played an important role on the world stage.

China-Laos-Myanmar-Thailand Mekong River joint patrol and law enforcement drills in the waters of the Mekong River Golden Triangle. Credit: China News Agency, Yunnan Provincial Public Security Department.

In the main, China's international anti-drug cooperation takes on the following forms:

The first involves international anti-drug cooperation under the coordination of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Second, China cooperates in accordance with inter-governmental international organisations. The third form is the anti-drug cooperation between China and regional organisations, such as the anti-drug cooperation mechanism between China and the Southeast Asian nations. The fourth is the multilateral anti-drug cooperation mechanism, such as between China and Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. Finally, there are drug control cooperation mechanisms between China and other individual countries (China–Myanmar, China–Vietnam, China–Laos and China–Philippines).

In addition, China cooperates in anti-drug initiatives with the International Criminal Police Organisation and especially in border areas.

The China-Laos-Myanmar-Thailand-Mekong joint patrol and law enforcement policy was carried out on the Lancang-Mekong River. Credit: China News Agency, Miu Chao.

What is the current international drug control situation and how should China deal with it?

At present, drug-related crimes in China have been curbed. The situation has been improved and further consolidated, highlighted by the reduction in the number of existing drug users, large-scale drug production activities, drug production materials and outflow drug traffickers.

However, factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic have had a negative effect on the global drug problem. A report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has revealed that COVID-19 has not only had a major impact on the global economy, public health and people's lifestyles, but it has also brought about many new changes to the supply of global drug products, trafficking methods and consumer demand. The "Golden Triangle", "Golden Crescent", "Silver Triangle" and other drug source areas have affected the success of the anti-drug campaign, and the economic recession has led more farmers to turn to drug cultivation. Global drug production has remained high, and the rising unemployment rate has caused more poor and vulnerable people to turn to drug addiction or engage in drug-related criminal activities. There are approximately 275 million people worldwide currently using drugs.

In June 2022, the Chinese and Lao police jointly cracked a major drug case and seized 1.44 tons of drugs. Credit: China News Agency, Yunnan Provincial Public Security Department.

In these circumstances, China's anti-drug policy has been confronted by new risks and challenges. Accordingly, the content and form of drug prevention education in China needs to be constantly updated, anti-drug education needs to be carried out on the basis of targets and different levels, and the scope and awareness of anti-drug knowledge needs to be improved.

When dealing with smuggling, transportation, trafficking and drug-producing crimes, it is also necessary to maintain an intense law enforcement campaign against criminals, and to be resolute in the fight against drug-related crimes. The work involving drug rehabilitation in communities also needs to be urgently strengthened. Meanwhile, in order to deal with the increasingly globalised and networked drug crimes, it is vital that all-round international cooperation in narcotics control is achieved. China is keen to demonstrate its strength as a willing participant in this endeavour.