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Editor's note: CGTN's First Voice provides instant commentary on breaking stories. The column clarifies emerging issues and better defines the news agenda, offering a Chinese perspective on the latest global events.
U.S. Department of Justice announced indictments charging China-based companies and their employees with crimes related to fentanyl production, distribution and sales resulting from precursor chemicals last Friday.
China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson denounced the move. "U.S. law enforcement personnel ensnared Chinese nationals through 'sting operation' in a third country and blatantly pressed charges against Chinese entities and individuals,"the spokesperson said, adding that this is typical arbitrary detention and unilateral sanction, which is completely illegal. It seriously harms the basic human rights of the Chinese nationals and the interests of the Chinese companies concerned.
Fentanyl is powerful opioid analgesic – 75 to 100 times more potent than morphine. As a strong painkiller, fentanyl is indispensable in medical treatment. But in the wrong hands, it can lead to addiction and even death, and thus is regarded as a drug if illegally obtained. Therefore, fentanyl's control and use has been a sensitive issue across the world.
Opioid abuse is not news in the United States. Making up only 5 percent of the world's population, the U.S. consumes over 80 percent of the world's opioids. Synthetic opioids contributed to about 75,000 overdose deaths in the U.S. last year, an increase of 4 percent from 2021, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Synthetic opioid is the No.1 cause of drug overdose deaths in the United States.
The UN has put fentanyl under strict control, and an increasing number of fentanyl analogues have been put under the list of controlled substances. By 2020, 22 fentanyl-related substances were included in the UN control list. As of December 2022, more than 30 fentanyl-related substances, including precursors, are scheduled for international control.However, fentanyl, strictly controlled across the world, has evolved into a serious health care crisis in the United States.
An opioid profit chain has formed in the U.S., according to American magazine New Yorker. Pharmaceutical giants producing opioid painkillers advertise and introduce other incentive measures to expand production.American rehab industry pays doctors to distribute leaflets to patients – its source for potential customers.
As one of the U.S.'s leading experts on opioid abuse, Andrew Kolodny has claimed that some pharmaceutical companies in the U.S. are driven by their own interests and downplay the addictive risks of opioid painkillers while promoting their benefits, thereby exacerbating the opioid crisis in the U.S. The health of the American people has hence become a casualty of the law of the jungle.
Having an illness is not a cause for alarm, provided that the root cause is identified, and the appropriate treatment is administered. However, the recent actions of the U.S. Department of Justice, ensnaring Chinese nationals through "sting operation" in a third country and blatantly pressing charges against Chinese entities and individuals, have come as a shock to many.
In 2019, China became the first country in the world to officially put all fentanyl-related substances under control on humanitarian grounds. Currently, there are 25 types of fentanyl-related substances listed for control in China, exceeding the number of substances regulated by the United Nations. Fentanyl-related substances are strictly controlled in the field of pharmaceutical production and circulation in China.
Mike Vigil, former chief of International Operations for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, also refuted the unfounded accusation that fentanyl originates from China, stating that drug abuse within the U.S. is the main cause.
To truly solve the crisis brought about by fentanyl, the United States must first look inward and strengthen domestic prescription drug control, while also cracking down on drug trafficking and usage. This requires international cooperation and coordination with other countries to jointly address the challenges posed by drugs.
If the U.S. continues to rely solely on tactics such as pressure, shifting blame, smearing, and slandering, while disregarding the basic human rights of citizens of other countries and the interests of their businesses, it will only end up with a "terminal illness."
