Officials told to win the war against drugs
CHINESE President Xi Jinping has called for following a path with Chinese characteristics to contain drug-related problems and winning the war on drugs in the new era.
Xi made the remarks in a written instruction released yesterday ahead of today’s International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.
To win the war, Xi spoke of the need to strengthen Party leadership, give full play to the political and system advantages, improve the anti-drug work mechanism, heighten responsibilities for officials, and mobilize the public.
Xi noted that important progress had been achieved since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China as the National Narcotics Control Commission and departments at all levels across the country had been firm in implementing the decisions of the central authorities and taken action to fight drugs against all challenges.
Calling anti-drug work a matter that concerned state safety, national prosperity and the people’s well-being, Xi demanded no let-up in the efforts until drugs are eliminated.
Xi ordered crack down on drugrelated crime, focusing on key regions, busting drug making and trafficking networks, investigating drug gangs and their protectors, and dealing with the root cause of drug proliferation.
Xi also stressed the importance of prevention, especially among the young.
He said anti-drug education needed to be stepped up to foster an atmosphere in which drugs are rejected everywhere in society.
In December 1987, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution to observe June 26 as the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.
This year, China marks the day as “Healthy life, green and drug free.”
Meanwhile, the national narcotics control commission said China seized 89.2 tons of drugs and solved 140,000 drug-related cases during 2017.
Over 5,500 drug production and trafficking gangs were busted, with 169,000 suspects arrested.
The commission said in a report issued yesterday on China’s drug control situation that there were 2.55 million drug users nationwide at the end of last year, and more than 1.5 million of them were synthetic drug abusers.
The report also noted that the variability of synthetic drugs has accelerated, and new types of drugs continue to emerge. According to the National Narcotics Laboratory, 34 new types of psychoactive substances were found in 2017, bringing the total number to 230 nationwide.
In regard to overseas drug sources, the report said that China is facing an increased threat of drug inflows from three specific sources, namely the Golden Triangle, the Golden Crescent and South America.