6月26日是禁止药物滥用和非法贩运国际日,美国驻华大使泰里·布兰斯塔德为新浪国际独家撰文,谈中美禁毒合作。
泰里·布兰斯塔德说,美方将继续与中国合作打击毒品贩运,以帮助中国公民避免遭受过多美国人已然遭受的命运。
以下为文章全文(中英文版):
文/美国驻华大使泰里·布兰斯塔德
6月26日是禁止药物滥用和非法贩运国际日。当今世界面临的最紧迫的公共卫生挑战之一就是毒品的使用、生产和贩运。下个月是曾经领导清朝禁烟运动的钦差大臣林则徐诞辰233周年。有幸的是,这也是美国和中国正在为使世界更安全而开展合作的一个领域,它显示了当我们两国共同努力来解决一个全球问题时,能做成什么。
过去几年中,一波新型、效力极强的合成药物在全球泛滥,包括非法合成阿片类药物。世界卫生组织报告称,2015年全球共缉获阿片类药物587吨。这足以填满四个运输用集装箱。阿片类药物的泛滥每年给美国造成估计5040亿美元的经济负担。与此同时,据中国国家禁毒委员会统计,2017年的毒品缉获量比2016年增加了100%以上。芬太尼、甲基苯丙胺等极易成瘾的致命新型合成阿片类药物是当前泛滥的驱动因素。
毒品交易不仅是个法律强制执行或经济问题。它还是一个公共卫生问题。据联合国毒品和犯罪问题办公室称,全球有2950万人患有药物使用失调。每年约19万人因毒品而过早死亡,而这本是可以避免的。仅在美国,每天就有超过一百人死亡,其罪魁祸首就是阿片类药物。据中国政府估计,中国约有250万吸毒者,比一年前增加约7%。此外,药物滥用也加剧了其他健康风险,包括因注射吸毒导致的艾滋病病毒(HIV)和肝炎的传播。阻止这种泛滥不仅需要打击毒品的非法生产和运输,还需要为药物滥用者提供治疗并防止新的成瘾。
我们正在为此做些什么呢?在特朗普总统2017年11月访问北京期间,美国和中国承诺就阻止致命麻醉品的流通展开合作。
每个国家都可以发挥作用。几年来,美国一直在专注针对阿片类药物的贩运,同时参与公共卫生行动以预防和治疗成瘾。中国也一直在就这些问题进行努力。2016年,中国政府报告了近17万起与毒品生产或贩运有关的抓捕,并一直在努力防止其公民中出现新的成瘾。
除了我们国家的努力之外,我们还可以通过共同努力成就更多—正如一句中国俗语所说,“众人拾柴火焰高”。事实上,自从去年11月特朗普总统和习主席同意共同努力以来,我们的协作已经产生了实实在在的成果。
我们已经加强了美国缉毒署与中国公安部禁毒局之间的合作。就在上个月,公安部官员前往美国,了解毒品预防和治疗的最佳做法—这样的访问还是第一次。在华盛顿DC和纽约市两站,他们看到了美国联邦机构、私人治疗中心和社区非政府组织在帮助美国人打击药物滥用方面发挥的作用。
在中国这里,政府已采取有效步骤来控制非法合成阿片类药物的生产和传播。 通过一项令人欢迎的创新,现在有一个新的流程来认定非法药物,使得中国能在评估是否应将某种物质定为非法时,考虑这种物质对在其他国家的公众造成的伤害—即使它在中国并未泛滥。
这些新规定已在产生效果。美国的数据证实,自近期中国对其列管程序进行修订以来,新型毒品的缉获次数已经骤减。而在2017年底,一项美中联合禁毒行动得出了一些线索,将中国警方带到位于中国中部的一家地下毒品加工厂。关停这家加工厂挽救了周边地区,去除了危险化学物污染的可能性,同时将一种致命的致瘾性物质清除出市。
打击非法阿片类药物合作是美中关系中确确实实的亮点之一。尽管如此,减少此类泛滥的斗争还远未结束。
我们将继续与中国合作打击毒品贩运,同时努力减少因受这些成瘾折磨的人数。我们将继续分享强制执法信息和最佳做法,并在中国进一步展开抗击国内药物成瘾的努力之时提供援助,帮助中国公民避免遭受过多美国人已然遭受的命运。
我们感谢我们持续的伙伴关系,并敦促中国成为打击药物滥用的全球领袖。 我们可以一起实现这个国际日的目标:创造一个没有药物滥用和非法贩运的世界。
International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking
Ambassador Terry Branstad
June 26 marks International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, one of the most pressing public health challenges facing the world today is drug use, production and trafficking。 And next month will be the 233rd birthday of Commissioner Liu Zexu, who spearheaded Qing Dynasty’s campaign to suppress opium。 Fortunately, this is also an area where the United States and China are cooperating to make the world safer, showing what can be done when our two countries come together to solve a global problem。
In the last several years the world has been inundated by a wave of new, highly potent synthetic drugs, including illicit synthetic opioids。 The World Health Organization reported that 587 tons of opioids were seized worldwide in 2015。 That’s enough to fill four shipping containers。 The opioid epidemic costs the American economy an estimated $504 billion annually。 Meanwhile, according to China’s National Narcotics Control Commission, drug seizures in 2017 were up more than 100 percent from 2016。 Highly addictive, deadly new forms of synthetic opioid such as fentanyl and methamphetamines are driving the current epidemic。
The drug trade is not just a law enforcement or economic problem。 It is also a public health problem。 According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 29.5 million people globally suffer from drug use disorders。 Each year there are around 190,000 preventable premature deaths from drugs。 In the United States alone there are over one hundred deaths each day。 The primary culprit is opioids。 China’s government estimates there are about two and a half million drug users in this country, an increase of about seven percent from a year ago。 Moreover, drug abuse exacerbates other health risks, including the spread of HIV and hepatitis due to injection drug use。 Stopping this epidemic requires not only fighting the illegal production and transport of drugs, but also treating drug abusers and preventing new addictions。
What are we doing about this? During President Trump’s November 2017 visit to Beijing, the United States and China committed to cooperate on stemming the flow of deadly narcotics。
Each country has a role to play。 For several years the United States has focused on targeting opioid trafficking while simultaneously engaging in public health campaigns to prevent and cure addiction。 China has also been working on these issues。 China’s government reported nearly 170,000 drug-related arrests for production or trafficking in 2016, and has been working to prevent new addictions among its citizens。
Beyond our national efforts, we can accomplish even more by working together—as the Chinese saying goes, “the more people that are fueling the fire, the higher the flame (众人拾柴火焰高)。” Indeed, since Presidents Trump and Xi agreed to work together last November, our collaboration has generated tangible results。
We have tightened cooperation between the U.S。 Drug Enforcement Administration and the Narcotics Control Board of the Chinese Ministry of Public Security (MPS)。 Just last month, MPS officials traveled to the United States for a first-of-its-kind visit to learn best practices for drug prevention and treatment。 At stops in Washington D.C。 and New York City, they saw the roles played by U.S。 federal agencies, private treatment centers, and community NGOs in helping Americans combat substance abuse。
Here in China, the government has taken effective steps to control the production and spread of illicit synthetic opioids。 In a welcome innovation, a new procedure for designating illicit drugs now allows China to consider harm to the public in countries other than China (regardless of the absence of an epidemic in China) when evaluating whether a substance should be deemed illicit。
These new rules are already having an effect。 U.S。 data confirm seizures of new forms of drugs have sharply declined since China recently amended their scheduling process。 And in late 2017 a joint U.S。-China drug-interdiction action produced clues that led Chinese police to an illicit drug lab in central China。 Shutting down the lab saved a Chinese neighborhood from possible contamination from dangerous chemicals, while keeping a deadly, addictive substance off the streets。
Cooperation on combatting the flow of illicit opioids is one of the true bright spots in the U.S。-China relationship。 Nonetheless, the fight to roll back this epidemic is far from over。
We will continue to work with China to fight drug trafficking, while seeking to reduce the number of people who suffer from these addictions。 We will continue sharing law enforcement information and best practices, and offer assistance as China further develops its efforts to combat domestic drug addiction, helping keep Chinese citizens from suffering the fate too many Americans have already suffered。
We appreciate our continued partnership and urge China to be a global leader in fighting drug abuse。 Together we can achieve the goals of this international day: to create a world free of drug abuse and illicit trafficking。