by Zhou Yongming (East Asian Institute, National University of Singapore)

This volume deals with the re-emergence of the drug problem in China in the reform era and the ways in which the authorities deal with it. Riding on a sweeping victory over the nationalists, the newly established communist government in the early 1950s was thorough and decisive in stamping out the drug problem that had plagued the country for centuries. What made the Chinese government's effort effective then were mass campaigns and China's almost total isolation from the outside world. In the reform era, however, with marketization and the country's increasing integration into the capitalist world economy, the effectiveness of the old methods has been called into question. Severe punishment of offenders has failed to curb the spread of drug trafficking, and mass campaigns have aroused scant interest from the populace. The much-reduced efficacy of the government's anti-drug efforts due to the changed macro-environment implies that the drug problem in China will persist if not worsen.