All things old China - books, anecdotes, stories, podcasts, factoids & ramblings from the author Paul French

Peking Dope Addicts, 1937 – Get the Cure or Get Executed

Posted: October 10th, 2016 | No Comments »

In January 1937 the Nationalist Peking authorities launched a crackdown on opium – arresting dealers and parading addicts through the streets. The campaign included naming, shaming, forced institutionalizing, imprisonment and public execution for some (though not as many as originally suggested by the Nationalists or alluded to in the captions below – added by the American newspapers and/or AP). ‘Death to all addicts’ didn’t happened but many, hearing this, did seek ‘the cure’ – inevitably Peking’s hospitals and sanatoria (that look fairly bleak places) could not cope with the number of dopers who showed up seeking treatment. This time around it seems foreign dopers (of whom there were quite a few hid away around town) were not targetted.

1476092036_tmp_oakland_tribune_sun__jan_24__1937_

1476092057_tmp_oakland_tribune_sun__jan_24__1937__1_

1476092077_tmp_oakland_tribune_sun__jan_24__1937__2_



Leave a Reply