Far from me: The Confession of a Poppy: The Confession of a Poppy

Author: Yu Dingyu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-06-01
Features: Drugs: An Approaching Specter
Drugs, this ruthless plague, areing in the world. The drug problem has become a global issue. Currently, the number of drug users worldwide exceeds 200 million, and drug trafficking involves over 170 countries and regions. The annual global drug trade volume has reached nearly 1 trillion US dollars, a astronomical figure. In just one country, the United States, the number of drug-related deaths each year has reached 500,000. The shadow of this plague has increasingly appeared in China over the past decade. Statistics show that from 1982 to 2004, China had 1.14 million registered drug users, with annual drug consumption exceeding 200 billion yuan. Among these massive drug users, 70% to 80% have committed various illegal and criminal acts, with those under 35 accounting for 70% of all drug users.
Although the numbers are silent, each word is shocking, and every sentence is alarming. These ominous figures paint a terrifying picture: each year, an amount equivalent to China's 2003 GDP (Gross Domestic Product) or 93 times the wealth of Queen Elizabeth, is burned away by the sparks of drug users worldwide! Meanwhile, China suffers an annual loss of social wealth due to drug disasters, equivalent to one major Yangtze River flood each year.
In recent years, the Party Central Committee and the State Council have attached great importance to this issue, and the Chinese government has always included drug control as a basic policy in the overall planning of national economic and social development, achieving significant results. However, due to the international drug tide and domestic drug-related factors, China's drug situation still faces many uncertainties. The country faces dual pressures: increased cross-border drug trafficking and a rise in domestic drug sources, as well as the continued development of traditional opium-based drugs and the rapid spread of new drugs like methamphetamine and ecstasy. The drug situation is characterized by diversification, varied harms, and the integration of drug production, trafficking, and consumption.
These severe realities send out a strong warning: drug tides know no borders! What we once thought was a distant, indifferent specter of a drug demon is now relentlessly approaching every one of us, carrying a massive shadow and a sinister laugh. The black flag is raised, and the alarm bell tolls. Humanity is in crisis! The motherland is in crisis!
In today's world, the drug problem has undoubtedly become a global issue. Like a plague, it spreads rapidly across countries, leaving no nation untouched and no citizen completely safe from its harm. To completely eradicate this plague requires global cooperation and public participation in a worldwide anti-drug war!
How much do you know about the origins of this "century-long plague"? Do you know how the poppies, once beautiful, turned evil? How the "Golden Triangle," "Silver Triangle," and "Golden Crescent"—the three major drug sources—are encircling China, forming an extremely dangerous "ambush"? Do you know how the vast Pacific Ocean, once a symbol of prosperity and cradle of human civilization, has been plunged into chaos by a drug "Silver Crescent" in the past decade? Have you heard how, over the past three centuries, countless souls have bled and cried on Chinese soil due to drug disasters? Since the Opium War, how many times has China witnessed heroic calls for drug control?
You should know all this. And you must know it. Because you are the future and hope of the motherland, the reserve citizens and future masters of our society, you are an important force in the Chinese nation's battle against drug disasters!
The purpose of this book is to briefly introduce the dynamics of the century-long drug plague, its sources, the arduous journey and glorious achievements of the Chinese government in combating drug disasters, so that young people can, when facing this overwhelming drug tide, be informed, law-abiding, drug-aware, and actively take action—resisting drugs and participating in anti-drug efforts!
Comrade Deng Xiaoping once said, "If China does not combat drugs, all the work we have done over the years will be in vain." And participating in anti-drug efforts to eradicate drug disasters and defend our civilization and dignity is a sacred duty of every Chinese citizen.
When you open this small book, you can say that you have taken up the sacred flame of drug control from the hands of your predecessors; you can also say that you have allowed sunlight to shine into your life. And when you close this book, please remember one thing: "As long as drug disasters persist, there will be no peace for the nation!"
What drugs devour is not just life and wealth; they also mercilessly consume the hope and future of a nation. The demon of drugs has issued us heavy challenges with "death" and "destruction." Facing the plague's challenge, every young person should rise up. Whether China's reform and opening-up can continue to advance smoothly, whether our nation's great ship can once again navigate through turbulent waters to a brighter tomorrow—hope lies in your hands.