Working together to Annihilate Narcotics to Create a Better Tomorrow

(Yunnan Provincial Development and Reform Commission)

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen:

I feel greatly honoured to attend such an important conference and to share with you our experience in the use of poppy- substituting crops in border areas.

Since 1991, the People’s Government of Yunnan Province has been trying to help the neighbouring countries to develop poppy-substituting crops for the permanent control of narcotics under the support of the Central Government of the People’s Republic of China. It has taken active actions to expand the plantation of poppy-substituting crops and develop substitutional industries in these countries   under the guidance of the State Narcotics Control Commission. Up to now, relevant substitutional enterprises in Yunnan have offered over 50 billion RMB for providing all kinds of grain to Myanmar and Laos, over 100 tons of improved varieties of crops, over one million economic nursery stock, and the total area of poppy-substituting crops aboard have exceeded 0.62 million mu. Substitutional projects have been expanded from rural economy crops to many areas like road, transportation, water conservancy facilities construction aboard, rural economy crops deep processing, planting fruit trees formed economic forest, aquaculture, various practical technical training, tourism, culture and education. Substitutional plantation has been gradually transferred to substitutive development stage. With joint efforts of many quarters including China, the poppy-alternative cultivation have been successfully implemented in the boundary areas out of China, local poppy plantation area have been decreased, the infrastructure and eco-environment of related region aboard have been improved, as well as the legal economic development at the local area, have been welcomed and highly appraised by the Government of Myanmar and Laos as well as Northern Myanmar nationalities region armed organization, and be approved by the international society.

The achievements made from substitutive development which aided by the frontier areas of Yunnan are inseparable from the support of the Central Government of the People’s Republic of China. In order to help the neighbouring countries to carry out substitutive development, the Central Government and the People’s Government of Yunnan Province have made a series of polices and measures.

Ⅰ. According to the instructions made by Premier Zhu Rongji investigating Yunnan in 1999, and after the former State Development and Planning Commission made field study in 2000, and approved by the State Council to substituting rural economy crops for poppies at the frontier area in Yunnan. Import tax and import link value added tax are exempted within the approved quantity, and domestic link value

added tax shall follow the current policy. The cultivation area, strains, output for substituting rural economy crops aboard and the State Council will approve the annual resold strains, quantity (involving import quota, license management goods) after examined by Yunnan Province annually, and authorize Yunnan Province to make specific management methods at the same time.

Ⅱ. According to the policy made by the former State Development and Planning Commission toward helping neighboring countries in implementing alternative plantation in 2000, Yunnan Provincial Narcotics Control Commission took the lead, and after consultations with the former Yunnan Provincial Development and Planning Commission, Foreign Affairs Office of the People’s Government of Yunnan Province, Yunnan Provincial Foreign Economy and Administration for the Inspection of Import and Export Commodities, had drawn up management methods (temporarily) for helping neighboring countries in implementing projects on poppy-substituting crops aboard in Yunnan Province, mainly concerning the following:

a.       The definition and scope of poppy-substituting crops

b.      The project principle of poppy-substituting crops

c.       The responsible organization and the component members of poppy-substituting crops, the duties of projects management office aboard for poppy-substituting crops of Yunnan Provincial Narcotics Ban Commission

d.      The enterprises shall be qualified for carrying out poppy-substituting crops

e.       The procedure and management methods of poppy-substituting crops

f.        The management for the inspection of resold domestic products

Ⅲ.  In order to ensure that helping neighboring countries in implementing substitutive development can be healthily, orderly and constantly carried out, and the related enterprises can be operated in a normal way. Poppy-substituting crops aboard implement publicity system in 2004 according to the actual situation in the foreign areas near Yunnan. It clearly stipulates the duty, scope, project, content, channel, time, appeal and verification sector of the publicity department.

A series polices and measures made by the Chinese government on helping neighboring countries in substitutive development have achieved great successes. However, totally prohibit narcotics is an international issue, it needs the common effort under the international society, Myanmar and Laos. In order to consolidate the achievements, we propose that the narcotics ban shall start from the origin, and we need the support of the international society, the ASEAN countries, Myanmar and Laos according to the current issues and actual situation. We shall make common effects in the following fields.

A. Strengthen Poppy-substituting Crops

Poppy-substituting crops is the foundation for development, the international society shall unite and give great support to it.

a. Propose that the United Nations International Drug Control Programme will give great support to poppy-substituting crops, such as establishing the related training institution to gradually improve the level for agriculture production and economic nursery stock plantation of farmers in Northern Region of Myanmar and Laos.

b. Based on the actual situation in Myanmar and Laos, suggest that some experiment bases or research offices shall be established, and will provide scientific and research intelligence support to the poppy-substituting crops enterprises in order to improve their emergency abilities.

c. Propose that the Government of Myanmar and Laos will cooperate vigorously with the international society, and shall give economic administration and market economy theory training to the administrative personnel working at the government body so that the economic administration level and abilities of the administrative personnel can be greatly improved, and can meet the transformation of economic increase pattern and mode of production, and give support to the enterprises operation from the government level.

d. Suggest that Myanmar and Laos will exempt import taxes from seeds, chemical fertilizer, agricultural chemical, farm tools and related equipment needed by poppy-substituting crops. Conveniences on entry-exit customs will be given to the personnel participating in poppy-substituting crops, and personnel daily necessities can be brought in.

B. Opening Up the Investment Field, Promoting Substitutive Development

a. The Government of Myanmar and Laos shall strengthen the support and input to the development of frontier areas. Decrease the dependence on narcotics economy and create a favourable and comfortable political and economic environment to poppy-substituting crops.

b. Based on their environment and resources situation in Northern Region of Myanmar and Laos, set realistic middle and long term substituting development planning at the local place, and gradually promote substitutive development according to the planning.

c. Concerned countries and regions shall open up the investment field for substitutive development, making preferential policies, and encouraging the foreign investment coming to their country. Suggest that the ASEAN countries will give preferential on taxes and products of substitutive development entering into market, and shall give original place qualification in order to let products entering into international market.

e. Unified policies, encouraging many-sided development. Various investment entering into the original region of poppy-substituting crops regardless of involving tourism, services, processing, education, hygiene, transportation facilities construction are all considered as poppy-substituting crops projects, and sharing relevant preferential policies.

C. Establishing A Special Fund, Enlarging the Investments and Supporting the Substitutive development

a. Suggest that the UNODC sets up a special substitutive development project group, and establish a special substitutive development fund. On the one hand can give awards to the enterprises, governments and organizations which have made outstanding contributions in the field of poppy-substituting crops, on the other hand, through giving financial supports to those enterprises which deal with substitutive development and have made fruitful achievements, those enterprises will complete a part of the substitutive development works which should be undertaken by the governments or organizations.

b. Poppy-substituting crops not only have particular seasonal characteristics, but also have many relationships with local climate. To some extent they can’t be predicted, thus will bring great risk to the poppy-substituting crops. The fund can be used as insurances to the enterprises that deal with substitutive development and farmers who engage in the poppy-substituting crops, strengthen the confidence of local governments and farmers about poppy-substituting crops, and improve the poppy-substituting crops are carried forward continuously, stably and healthily.

c. Conducting vigorous appeal to the international societies for humanitarian supports to the infrastructure constructions in the former opium cultivation areas. Infrastructure construction is a necessary prerequisite for speeding up the alternative development in the north of Myanmar and Laos. If the prerequisite is not available, the substitutive development and the economy development in the north of Myanmar and Laos will be greatly restricted.

d. Use the international assistances to purchase grains and crops produced by substitutional cultivation areas, and then distribute the grains and crops to local farmers who have not enough food. On the one hand, this will support the development of enterprises dealing with substitutive development, and makes these enterprises gain a stable market; on the other hand, this will make the international assistances more effective.

D. Actively support China and other ASEAN countries to build international logistics channels, such as Trans-Asia Railway, Kunming-Bangkok Highway, Mekong River Navigation Channel and so on, and promote the development of tertial industry. Through the industry of substitutive development and cultivation, use substitutive development to lay a material foundation for logistic activities, introduce the advanced industries from the developed areas to the former opium cultivation areas, improve the substitutive development, form good interaction and promote the local economy to develop legally.

E. Establish an International Coordinative Organization for the Substitutive Development

Substitutive development is a regional economy development and international cooperative anti-drug issue that needs great supports from international societies. In view of the problems of transregional anti-drug and economy development, the issue also needs the multilateral governments to coordinate with each other and to promote the substitutive development wholly and deeply. Therefore it is very urgent to establish a transnational coordinating organization for the substitutive development.

China has carried on the poppy-substituting crops in Myanmar and Laos for more than ten years, and has made outstanding achievements, as well as has gained plentiful successful experiences in the substitutive development. So we suggest that the United Nations International Drug Control Programme takes the lead, and the related countries in international societies, Chinese governments, and the countries of ASEAN jointly set up a special international organization for the substitutive development. We can think about its structure from the following three aspects:

a. Through consultations, China, Myanmar and Laos can set up a management group for the substitutive development, and this group can coordinate the issue of substitutive development.

b. Set up an office for the substitutive development, and the office is in charge of coordinating the substitutive development issues in “Golden Triangle” Region.

c. Set up a recipient organization for substitutive development, the organization is supported by international anti-drug people, and will try to strive for supports and assistances from international societies.

The establishment of an international organization for the substitutive development will not only benefit the solving of substitutive development issues by the international coordination and joint management, but also will effectively help the governments of Myanmar and Laos to strive for the long-term and low-interest loans and interest-free loans and related assistances from World Bank, Asian Development Bank and International societies, thus will solve the problem of capital shortage for substitutive development.

Through the joint efforts of international societies, China, Myanmar and Laos, we do believe that substitutive development will make more remarkable achievements, and create a new world of the drug control course for all humanity.