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Yu vows to stay tough on drug use

Premier Yu Shyi-kun yesterday reaffirmed the government's determination to continue its war on drugs, pledging to increase its efforts to stamp out drug trafficking and illegal substance abuse.

Addressing a national anti-narcotics conference marking the Opium Suppression Movement Day, Yu said the government's campaign against drug trade and drug abuse would continue unabated to protect all individuals.

Over the past decade, Yu said, the government has adopted a number of measures to crack down on drug abuse and trafficking.

"Such efforts, ranging from cutting off supplies to intensifying anti-drug publicity campaigns, have partially paid off as the United States has not listed Taiwan as a major drug transshipping center for the past two years," Yu said.

Nevertheless, Yu said, drug abuse remains an increasingly serious problem in Taiwan.

Noting that developments on the Internet have allowed easier access to contraband drugs, Yu said the average age of drug abusers has been steadily becoming younger. Worse still, he said, there are now diverse kinds of alternative drugs circulating on the market.

In the face of these new trends, Yu said, the government's anti-drug campaign has become ever more important.

"We must step up publicity campaigns to remind the public of the health hazards of drug abuse and accelerate our crackdown on drug smuggling to cut off domestic supplies," Yu said.

He added that the relevant government agencies should also cooperate to get drug abusers to quit.

Speaking on the same occasion, Minister of Health Lee Ming-liang (李明亮) said although the government's anti-drug campaign has achieved some results in the past few years, the number of young drug abusers and repeat offenders has been rising and the number of female abusers has also picked up significantly.

"These trends are worrisome," Lee said, adding that relevant government agencies should face up to the realities and take effective measures to cope with the situation.

During the meeting, 18 individuals and groups were honored for their contributions to the anti-drug campaign over the past year.

The June 3 Opium Suppression Movement Day has been observed since 1930 in commemoration of the burning of imported opium in 1839 during the Opium War against the British.

Meanwhile, according to a report by the Ministry of Justice's Investigation Bureau, Kinmen, Matsu and Penghu have been used by drug dealers as major transit points of drug trafficking from China to Taiwan proper.

The report said that China has become the biggest source of drugs for Taiwan.

Confiscated drugs from China, primarily smuggled in by fishing vessels and shipping containers, represent 30 percent of all of the drugs recovered by police, according to the report.

The ministry pointed out that since the three small links were established, preventing drug dealers from using those outlying islands as transit points has become a major challenge for the ministry.
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