After being defeated in the opium war, the Qing Government was forced to sign the first batch of humiliating and unequal treaties with the British invaders. These treaties did not officially legalize opium trade, however, revealed the direct aim of the British war--to protect their opium export to China. When signing the treaties, the British Government repeatedly asked the Qing Government to legalize opium trade. It was because the Qing government had promised so in private that these issues were not mentioned in the Treaties.
Afterwards, the rampant spread of opium caused inconceivable damage to China. Again in 1906, the Qing government was forced to ban opium, and it was included in the "New Deal" as one of the most important tasks. Hence, the second anti-opium period under the rule of the Qing dynasty started.
Compared with the previous anti-opium orders issued by the Qing Government, this one was obviously much mature and realistic; therefore, the follow-up work was also more sophisticated and well organized. For example, they developed and issued a master planning, established a special institution, appointed a minister to engage in the anti-opium affairs, and simultaneously prohibit the planting and sales of opium, marking a climax of the anti-opium campaign.
The anti-drug movements in the Qing dynasty are of historical importance in China. During this period, China's opium drug growing out of nothing and spreading rapidly caused serious disaster to our country. From the first appearance of opium till the overwhelming invasion of narcotic drugs, the Qing Government had gone through twists and turns to develop a few anti-opium policies and measures, and had accumulated a wealth of experience and lessons. A more complete and perfect program had been summarized by the Qing Government after the second anti-opium period in the late Qing Dynasty, which not only enjoyed obvious success at the time, but also provide valuable and referable experience for the successive Chinese government after the Qing Dynasty.
China's domestic environment for anti-drug movement changed after the Revolution of 1911. Mr. Sun Yat-sen advocated a thorough anti-opium campaign to be closely connected to the democratic republicanism and liberal progress, and continued to provide powerful motivation for the anti-opium campaign. However, the Revolution of 1911 failed to change the nature of China as a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. The Nanjing Interim Government led by Sun Yat-sen came to power only for 3 months, and the Central Government of the Republic of China was soon controlled by the Northern Warlords. China indeed slid into disarray and warlord regimes after 1911. It was after the formal unification of China by Nanjing Nationalist Government that the disarray condition had been improved. The rule of the feudal comprador class not only caused political disunity, but also aggravated the anti-popular policy of all previous governments. All these had provided conditions for the existence and flourishing of opium and narcotic drugs.
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