FBIS4-26902
"drchi124_q_94005"
FBIS-CHI-94-124
Daily Report
24 Jun 1994
Southwest Region
Yunnan Official Discusses Drug Enforcement Efforts
Yunnan Official Discusses Drug Enforcement Efforts
HK2806004994 Beijing ZHONGGUO XINWEN SHE in Chinese 0343 GMT
24 Jun 94
HK2806004994
Beijing ZHONGGUO XINWEN SHE
Chinese
BFN
[Report on interview with Peng Jianfei, secretary of the
Yunnan Provincial Drug Enforcement Commission, by correspondents
Na Jiahua (4780 1367 7520) and Li Yirong (2621 1355 5816) on
Seventh International No-Drug Day; place not given: "Plug the
Sources and Stop the Flow, the Situation Is Grim -- Peng Jianfei
(1756 1696 7378) on Drug Enforcement in Yunnan"]
[Text] Kunming 24 Jun (ZHONGGUO XINWEN SHE) -- Peng
Jianfei, secretary of the Yunnan Provincial Drug Enforcement
Commission, gave an interview on the eve of the Seventh
International No-Drug Day.
Peng Jianfei said: The "Golden Triangle" lying outside
Yunnan Province is one of the world's key narcotics-producing
areas. A narcotics production base close to Yunnan's border
accounts for over 60 percent of the "Golden Triangle's" entire
output. The source lies outside Yunnan and drug traffickers
cross into the province to ply their trade. Drug proliferation
in Yunnan is very serious.
Peng Jianfei said: Yunnan's border is some 4,000 km long and
completely devoid of any natural barrier. With very busy border
travel, it is ideal for drug smuggling. In the early 1980's,
there were about 20,000 drug addicts from along Yunnan's
borders, all of them opium-smokers. By 1990, drug addicts
throughout the province had increased to some 57,000, most of
them smoking highly concentrated heroin instead of opium. These
drug addicts are spending all their money on drugs, their health
is gone, and most of them are completely unscrupulous. Over 70
percent of them have committed crimes of various sorts, such as
theft, prostitution, burglary, and murder, which pose a great
threat to society. Society as a whole is deeply troubled by
this phenomenon. State President Jiang Zemin pointed out in all
seriousness that in a sense, the problem of drug abuse and drug
trafficking is threatening the prosperity of the whole Chinese
people, and he warned that this was no alarmist talk.
Peng Jianfei told us that Yunnan has been strengthening its
power to fight against narcotics over last 10 years or so, and
especially in the past few years, and has scored increasingly
outstanding results. By 1993, the province's drug population
had been put under control. Annual drug cases solved rose from
hundreds to thousands, and drugs seized were measured in tonnes
instead of grams. From January to May this year, the province
solved 1,955 drug cases, seizing 2,118.6 kg of heroin, opium,
and other drugs, and 13.16 million yuan in drug money; and
arresting 2,808 drug criminals. It also seized 21 guns of
various kinds, as well as large quantities of stolen goods. The
number of cases solved, the number of arrests, and the amount of
heroin seized rose 29, 15, and 27 percent, respectively.
Peng Jianfei continued: Drug crime over the last few years
has acquired a number of new characteristics: More and more
such crimes are committed by gangs; criminals are becoming more
professional; more crimes are being committed outside the
borders; and the means of crime are becoming more covert,
secretive, and modernized. There has been a sharp increase in
bribery involving huge amounts of money, arms trafficking, and
violent resistance of inspections. A total of some 40 such
cases have been reported since last year. The Yunnan police are
targeting these criminals, cracking down on them mercilessly,
and meting out just punishments.
Secretary Peng stressed that narcotics will remain a problem
unless their supply is cut. Aimed at the problem of drugs
filtering through its borders, the Chinese Government and police
have held talks on many different levels with the governments
and police authorities of its neighboring countries concerning
drug enforcement. Statements were issued from these border
meetings that anyone breaking Chinese drug laws will be subject
to punishment by Chinese law! Meanwhile, international
cooperation in drug enforcement has made progress. On 24 May,
China, Burma, and the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs held a
meeting in Kunming, where they reached consensus and achieved
substantive results in the areas of pooling information, joint
investigation of cases, and substitute crops. The meeting will
prove a motive force for future drug enforcement.
Peng Jianfei said: Yunnan's efforts against narcotics have
caught the world's attention. In recent years, senior
government officials from many countries, delegates from
international organizations, and domestic and foreign reporters
have come to Yunnan to take a personal look at the province's
antidrug achievements. The trip sharpened their originally dim
understanding, and they all agreed that Yunnan's antidrug work
had made an important contribution to the international
community. It was even truer when the visitors were visibly
touched by the loyalty of the police officers when they saw them
camping in the rough and manning their posts under extremely
difficult onditions. On a fact-finding tour of Kunming early
this year, Robert Gelbard, U.S. assistant secretary of state for
international narcotics matters, said that "the Yunnan police
are on the frontline of the international drug fight,"
expressing his hope for close cooperation with China in drug
enforcement. Visiting officials suggested promoting China's
antidrug experience all over the world.
In conclusion, Peng Jianfei stated that the antidrug effort
will not stop for a moment as long as drugs are still around.
It is the sacred duty of the Yunnan police to stem the tide and
plug sources of supply, eliminate drugs, and stop them from
harming China and the world.