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What has China learned from the Opium War?
By Kim Lee
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On my recent trip to China, I saw history repeating! A high percentage of Chinese people are slowly being killed by foreign (American and European) tobacco companies. 7 G4 ~0 W! l8 f$ K8 n
The Chinese love foreign products, especially cigarettes and wine. g: m4 e, ?7 UAbout 150 years ago, the English seduced the Chinese with opium; “The high class Chinese should smoke opium, it will eliminate pains and troubles.” Many high ranking Chinese government officers and wealthy Chinese people smoked opium for entertainment.: v) v H! y" E" C0 m R) [
By 1836, opium houses rapidly increased and opened side-by-side with hotels and restaurants all over cities of China, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Burma, Cambodia and Vietnam. \+ N0 ]' d" x + t' J( i: W! K, D d- J# V
In 1949, the New China let by Chairman Mao Zedong shut down all the opium houses in China.' j7 Y1 u- S, Z
Other countries followed its lead and began shutting their opium houses down. It took about 15 years (1964) to complete shutting down the opium houses. 3 o/ `2 U8 M3 _7 ~4 o! aEven with the elimination of opium houses, the English continued to profit from the opium addicts and millions of Chinese people continued to whither and die at young ages. @/ S' u8 L1 T) }0 N
Opium, like cocaine and other illegal drugs, is one of the worst forms of violence, more powerful and damaging than nuclear weapon., e5 b. |$ l: c5 F
Opium corrupts the mind of people and can lead people to committing more crimes. * H4 K0 G. g- ]/ N- q. j5 wGovernment officers easily accepted bribes and corrupted. Young girls are willing to be prostitutes for opium or drugs. 6 P8 e$ g$ K: \- kThe English were the biggest drug traffickers of the eighteenth and nineteenth century and in return gained control. The English people who sold opium in China were not prosecuted in China and the English courts set them free.; V" y1 ~) Z, c5 T( a
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Now in 2008, the American tobacco companies hand out free cigarettes to the young people at clubs and at any public place all over China. 0 F. y% b, a+ B1 YThey spend millions of dollars in advertising and promoting cigarettes. / y1 t, k' [' yLots of young people think smoking will make them more attractive.9 @- g3 m! H. s3 q Y9 S8 ~2 q6 D
The likely results are that the young men and women who smoke become old men and women who smoke.: q# ^ ]" B- @+ q' X+ [# H
The addiction is overwhelmingly powerful. In Shanghai, people smoke everywhere whether confined or not.) N8 F* Q3 \6 |
People smoke in bathrooms, in elevators, in restaurants, in hospitals, in government offices, inside the trains and inside buses. Even the people who choose not to smoke end up breathing second hand smoke. ( f' J% V& E3 E+ g
! B& C* ~# J f W, T x' p* V2 lThe sad facts are that millions of Chinese don’t want to admit they are voluntarily committing suicide in front of their family members, while the tobacco companies continue profiting billions of dollars from the smokers.% Z! r: P8 R/ i9 I7 {3 Z
The smokers have become slaves to the tobacco companies! & i6 X# H2 ^- G7 [0 s( B 8 {% k5 Q) h; o. qHow do we solve this problem? I used to think that cigarettes were the main cause of the problem, but I was wrong. The problem is not the cigarette itself but the thinking process of the smokers. 3 ^& V7 k$ }! i' u$ c9 i; m& dEvery time they light up a cigarette, they think of the taste, smell, and relief of the cigarette. The addiction takes hostage of their minds. I want to direct them to think deeper and help them realize that every time they light up their cigarettes they are consuming poison, they are hurting their family, they will have to pay heavy medical bills, and they will die early. Smokers do have a choice and can regain control to make the right choice! - F: p2 v& ? V9 ^0 u1 F/ Z " W; N; [& V! E2 p0 G; h& V
China has 350 million smokers, more than the entire population of Russia, Germany, and Japan combined. : ?, W6 U- x0 Y) c" OThe habit kills about a million people a year in China and costs an estimated $5 billion annually in medical bills. ; X# `- }/ {$ g) FThe life expectancy on average for Chinese people in Beijing dropped to 54 years of age from 76 years when a decade ago (Shanghai Municipal Academy of social Science).' e: a5 q& T( N( A
" q: c1 e) k- E3 GChina, which consumes a third of the world's tobacco with a fifth of the world’s population, must mediate between cutting health care costs and its financial stake in tobacco, which generated 240 billion Yuan, or $31 billion, in taxes in 2005, according to a study at a Beijing University research center. 8 w1 X/ t4 D6 `! B9 P6 b+ j7 ?& d v+ T % }) P- q* B: M% F9 d" w+ t& q# h# R
"China is lagging behind the world," said Fang Ji-qian, a biostatistics professor at Zhongshan University in Guangzhou who put forward one of the anti-smoking proposals. "We face a budget shortage for medical services, so why don't we take measures to control smoking?" Professor Fang proposed a ban on advertising, smoking in public places, and eventually tobacco production. ( _: G/ e' W, O; m % y% Z; Y1 W- R) N4 xChina is facing the biggest challenge in solving problems in health care, water pollution, industry pollution, traffic air pollution, and shortage of drinking water. 3 d& d$ o8 e% Y- L( ZEvery city I have been to in China was heavily polluted. $ q8 n9 w- k2 ^) C/ Q9 X9 ~
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Due to smoking and breathing the pollution, I constantly saw people spitting to clear their throats and dropping their cigarette buts everywhere. Chinese people have enough pollution problems as is, but smoking is one problem in which the Chinese people have more direct and immediate reign on. . {( Y" `- h( o
8 q" b" h; f1 d$ Z1 }! P, [In 1836, the Qing Emperor ruled opium as illegal. ) H6 P2 `2 X* j$ BToday, the Chinese government must regard cigarette use as detrimental as opium and as an addictive drug that is extremely harmful to people’s health.# F/ O- V. s' O
Smoking restrictions need to be implemented, particularly in areas that affect non-smokers and children. & r( P- R+ d7 J. i e& N! v/ ]0 p' zTop government officials need to educate and set good examples for the country to follow. ! k9 O4 H/ b8 X; V- g/ H9 EThe Department of Education, Food & Drug Administration, Environment Protection Agency, along with other government agencies must team-up together and regulate the tobacco industries. 0 E( [+ g+ F$ t" w! DLocal Chinese tobacco farms and factories need to be terminated completely. We have the responsibility to help educate and save the lives of the young and the future generations.3 `( y* p2 q% p) p3 e
Let’s do something!- S! H8 {' J) J2 U0 |0 ]3 I/ Z: R
==============================================作者: 何紫 时间: 2008-9-19 00:06