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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 1977
HK CONTRIBUTES TO UN DRUG ABUSE CONTROL FUND
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THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT TODAY (MONDAY) CONTRIBUTED, FOR THE THIRD CONSECUTIVE YEAR, $100,000 TO THE UNITED NATIONS FUND FOR DRUG ABUSE CONTROL (UNFDAC), DEMONSTRATING FURTHER ITS SUPPORT FOR THE WORLD-WIDE FIGHT AGAINST THE GLOBAL PROBLEM OF DRUG ABUSE.
THE COMMISSIONER FOR NARCOTICS, MR. E.I. LEE, WHO IS NOW IN EUROPE AFTER ATTENDING AN INTERPOL MEETING THERE, PRESENTED A CHEQUE FOR $100,000 PERSONALLY TO THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF UNFDAC, DR. JACOBUS DE BEUS, AT THE UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS IN GENEVA.
THE PRESENTATION BRINGS THE TOTAL SUM OF MONEY CONTRIBUTED BY HONG KONG TO THE FUND SINCE 1975 TO $300,000, WHICH IS THE LARGEST OF ALL CONTRIBUTIONS FROM DEVELOPING COUNTRIES AND TERRITORIES AND IS EVEN LARGER THAN A NUMBER OF THOSE FROM DEVELOPED COUNTRIES.
UNFDAC, ESTABLISHED IN 1971, IS PROVIDING FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO A LARGE NUMBER OF ANTI-NARCOTICS PROJECTS AROUND THE WORLD.
AMONG THE MAJOR ONES ARE THE THAILAND/U.N. CROP SUBSTITUTION PROGRAMME WHICH AIMS AT SUBSTITUTING OP HUM POPPIES WITH OTHER CROPS IN THE +GOLDEN TRIANGLE+, AND THE ANNUAL MEETINGS OF OPERATIONAL HEADS OF NARCOTICS LAW ENFORCEMENT BUREAUX
IN SOUTHEAST ASIA, BOTH OF WHICH ARE OF PARTICULAR SIGNIFICANCE TO HONG KONG'S ANTI-NARCOTICS WORK.
OTHER UNFDAC ACTIVITIES INCLUDE TRAINING FELLOWSHIPS, DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION ON THE WORLD NARCOTICS SITUATION, AND RESEARCH FOR DRUG ADDICTION TREATMENT TECHNIQUES.
A NARCOTICS DIVISION SPOKESMAN SAID HONG KONG'S CONTINUED CONTRIBUTION TO THE FUND INDICATED ITS FIRM SUPPORT FOR, AND ACTIVE PARTICIPATION IN INTERNATIONAL ACTION AGAINST THE SCOURGE OF DRUG TRAFFICKING AND DRUG ABUSE.
+REAL IS ING THAT HONG KONG, TOGETHER WITH MANY OTHER COMMUNITIES AND NATIONS, CANNOT SOLVE THE DRUG PROBLEM ALONE, BUT ONLY IN CLOSE CO-OPERATION WITH THOSE SIMILARLY AFFLICTED INTERNATIONALLY, WE ATTACH GREAT IMPORTANCE TO THE EFFORTS OF THE UNITED NATIONS, THE SPOKESMAN SAID.
THE CONTRIBUTION, HE SAID, WAS ALSO A TANGIBLE RECOGNITION OF THE RESULTS WHICH HAD SO FAR BEEN ACHIEVED BY UNFDAC.
THE SPOKESMAN ALSO POINTED OUT THAT APART FROM CASH CONTRIBUTIONS, HONG KONG HAD ALSO BEEN MAKING A CONSIDERABLE CONTRIBUTION TO THE UNITED NATIONS IN KIND, BY PROVIDING TRAINING FACILITIES FREELY TO ANTI-NARCOTICS OFFICERS FROM OTHER COUNTRIES, WHO WERE SPONSORED BY THE UNITED NATIONS OR ITS AGENCIES.
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