{"id":18120,"date":"2018-06-14T11:35:32","date_gmt":"2018-06-14T18:35:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=18120"},"modified":"2018-06-14T11:42:58","modified_gmt":"2018-06-14T18:42:58","slug":"opium-profitable-but-deadly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/opium-profitable-but-deadly\/","title":{"rendered":"OPIUM – PROFITABLE BUT DEADLY"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The early years of China although challenging and prosperous, politically it had its challenges. Its decision to return to the Communism was a surprise. \u201cThe Hong Kong identity that emerged was based on a shared outlook and a common popular culture which blended traditional Chinese culture with that imported from overseas, with the influences of the USA, Britain, and Japan being particularly noticeable. This shared outlook incorporated elements of the traditional Confucian moral code and emphasis on the family, as well as modern concepts like the rule of law,” respect for human rights, a limited government, “a free economy, a go-getting attitude and pride in the local community’s collective rejection of corruption.” (194-195)<\/p>\n

Author Steve Tsang of The Modern History of Hong Kong<\/em> takes you on a journey of the Hong Kong (a fish village) becoming a capitalist phenomenon. It was under the rule of Britain who was instrumental in its success in trade. One of its trading success was the Opium War. I have said this before in my other blogs, I am not a history buff. Reading about it just bores me. I was drawn to this section of his book because of the opium tragedy in America. So many Americans are addicted to Opium, and it has been a contribution to some deaths.<\/p>\n

Britain\u2019s imported from China tea and raw silk. Tea was essential to Britain because it became a daily need. Regarding the raw silk, In my blog on the Silk Roads \u2013 Which Route<\/em> I wrote in my review, “\u2019China had opened a door leading on to a trans-continental network; it was the moment of the birth of the Silk Roads.\u2019 (20) China trading ambitions were successful, especially with the silk. Silk was known to be used as currency in trade. Silk is a smooth and shiny material that is Asian inspired.\u201d [1]<\/a><\/p>\n

According to the Britannica, \u201cOpium was first introduced to China by Turkish and Arab traders in the late 6th or early 7th century CE. Opium was taken orally to relieve tension and pain, and the drug was used in limited quantities until the 17th century.\u201d [2]<\/a>\u00a0 The British East India Company was the producer of the Opium and selling it in China. In fact, they were referred to as \u201cpoppies.\u201d [3]<\/a>\u00a0 I remember in the Wizard of Oz they ran through a garden of poppies, inhaled and went to sleep. Okay, I digressed back to the story at hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 1907, China signed the Ten Years\u2019 Agreement with India, whereby China agreed to forbid native cultivation and consumption of opium on the understanding that the export of Indian opium would decline in proportion and cease completely in 10 years.\u201d (8-9) Opium was illegal to use in China, but it was able to become self-sufficient because of its ability to trade with Britain on tea and raw silk. People used opium for medical purposes and it was not considered illegal in Britain. \u201cThe Spring Purificationists and Lin picked Guangdong to start the anti-opium campaign as they realized that a countrywide one could not be implemented. The most effective way was to cut off the supply where it entered the country, so he planned to cause a temporary collapse of trade in Canton to produce a commercial panic among the British so that the latter would sacrifice the opium trade for the profits of other commerce.\u201d (9)<\/p>\n

Lin placed pressure on the British to release the opium. The British offered to pay for the supply rather than trade. Once Lin received the opium supply (valued at 2million pounds, he burned them in public. (10) The British and Indian drafted a treaty for peace requiring all demands be met. Qi Shan replaced Lin as special commissioner which required Qi to negotiate with the British, Charles Elliot. They reached an agreement referred to as Chuenpi Convention but was later replaced. The British possessed and ruled over Hong Kong in 1841. The British still wanted the rights to trade the opium. The Treaty of Nanking ended the First Opium War.\u201d (12)<\/p>\n

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In America, it was not considered illegal, but legislation is being considered to ban its use or at least regulate it. There have been deaths related to the use or addiction to the drugs. \u201cFrom 1996 to 2001, American drug giant Purdue Pharma held more than 40 nationals \u201cpain management symposia\u201d at picturesque locations, hosting thousands of American doctors, nurses, and pharmacists.\u201d [4]<\/a>\u00a0 Purdue’s sales doubled during the years from 1996 to 2002. Over six years, prescriptions increase from 670,000 to excess over six million. It has been documented that prescription opioids in 2002, 5000 people were dying per year and had not tripled. President Donald Trump in 2018 has called it a \u2018national emergency.’[5]<\/a> This drug which is effective for pain has ruined many lives. It is addictive, and people are seeking it for the feel versus for its purpose.<\/p>\n

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[1]<\/a> Lynda Gittens, DMINLGP.com | SILK ROAD \u2013 WHICH ROUTE?, Author Peter Frankopan, accessed 6\/13\/18, \u00a0http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/silk-road-which-route\/<\/a><\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Encyclopedia Britannica, Opium Trade British and China History, accessed 6\/13\/18, https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/opium-trade<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> IBID.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> The Guardian, America\u2019s opioid crisis: how prescription drugs sparked a national trauma, accessed 6\/14\/18, https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2017\/oct\/25\/americas-opioid-crisis-how-prescription-drugs-sparked-a-national-trauma<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> IBID<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0   The early years of China although challenging and prosperous, politically it had its challenges. Its decision to return to the Communism was a surprise. \u201cThe Hong Kong identity that emerged was based on a shared outlook and a common popular culture which blended traditional Chinese culture with that imported from overseas, with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1260],"class_list":["post-18120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-tsang","cohort-lgp7"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18120"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18120\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18127,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18120\/revisions\/18127"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}