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Shanghai, China Blog II  (1 comment)

Posted by: Michael Leavitt
Friday, May 16th, 2008

No matter the culture, people get themselves messed up on drugs. Yesterday in Shanghai, I visited a methadone clinic in Xi portion of the city. That apparently means "west side." It’s the older part of the city. I’ve visited similar clinics around the world, so the physical layout and process wasn’t a surprise. However, I was able to talk with a couple of the patients at some length.

They are now serving about 175 addicts. Each day, they come to the clinic, check in, (often taking a urine test to demonstrate they have kept their commitments), pay the dollar co-payment they make, and then proceed to a counter where they are given a green liquid drink in an 8 ounce plastic cup. They gulp it down, followed by a water chaser. It appears to be a ritual they follow each morning.

A male patient, who I estimate was 30 years old and whose Chinese name I wasn’t able to catch, told me methadone has a bitter taste. However, he welcomes it. A jolt of bitterness appears to be a welcome trade for the angst heroin addicts endure dealing with the drug’s slavish pang. Through our interpreter, he explained he is a factory worker and has a family. He seems like so many other factory workers who live out their lives in Shanghai. I wanted to know more about him, and how he had found his way to this point, but a crowd had gathered and the intimacy of our conversation disappeared.

A woman, whose Chinese name sounded like Julie, (I’m sure it was something else–my ear for Chinese is poor), told me how glad she was to have broken the grip of her addiction. She appeared to be in her early 20’s and wore stylish tight fitting jeans and giant pink sun glasses. Her teeth were stained in way that seems common here.

Julie told me she had a job now, working at a clothing store. "I don’t have to worry about finding money for my habit any more."

"Do you feel better physically," I asked.

"Yes, and my Father says my face looks good again," was her response.

I asked how she felt when her body craved heroin. She described achiness, nausea and her entire body shaking uncontrollably." What an awful plague heroin is.

She was persuaded to seek help at the clinic by a volunteer who knew she had a problem. Addicts know addicts.

Secretary Leavitt signs a message in a book of patient stories at a methodone clinic in Shanghai

Bi-lateral Meeting and the Earthquake in China

My friend, the Minister of Health for China, Chen Zhu, had to cut short the day we had planned to spend together so he could get to the scene of the earthquake in Chaendu. We had a poignant conversation about this moment of crisis.

The Chinese government is not unfamiliar with, or unprepared for, this kind of disaster. In 1976, a similar earthquake killed 242,000. They have mobilized their army and civil society. Minister Chen was anxious to be on his way. It was gracious of him to host the meeting under those circumstances.

We had a significant list of agenda items, which we moved through in about an hour. Most of the items relate to the agreements we have or are negotiating on a range of issues.

Business takes longer in diplomatic meetings of this type because of language interpretation. I have found it is important to break my thoughts into short bits. Good interpreters have the ability to mimic your expressions and voice inflections, thereby providing insight into attitude as well as content. For that reason, both sides normally supply their own interpreters.

Our meeting was held in the Shanghai convention center, a new facility which appeared to have a set up for such diplomatic meetings. The United States is not as good as many other countries at diplomatic hosting. We don’t have budgets for it, and I would like to see us improve our approach.

Over the years, I have come to know the interpreters and staff for the various ministries. Having been with people from the health ministry many times now, there is a good sense of warmth and familiarity.

I also visited a large hospital and attended a museum to learn more about Traditional Chinese Medicine, but I will write more about that in my next post.

One Response to “Shanghai, China Blog II”

1. Emma Africana says:

   May 19, 2008 at 7:22 am

   “No matter the culture, people get themselves messed up on drugs..” that’s very true. great post! thanks very much for sharing.