When Trade Wars Turned Bloody: The Opium War with Stephen Platt
ChinaTalk
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The Impact of Corruption on the Opium War
There are fascinating contemporary echoes in that debate, whether to work on the supply or demand side. The opium issue weaves directly into that because it's a fantastic means of income for corrupt officials. They're easily bribed to ignore any laws having to do with opium smoking or opium smuggling. There's very, very few instances of the government actually cracking down on opium prior to the opium war.
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