Yang Weigen, or as many call him "Uncle Gen," has been working as a drug abuse social worker in Guangzhou for over 10 years. He has received numerous "Guangzhou's outstanding individual in fighting against drug abuse" awards. However, before getting this job, he fought a long battle against addiction.

"It was October 1991; one of my business partners brought a stranger to our karaoke party. That stranger bought a small bag of white powder and started snorting. He said if I tried, all my worries would go away," said Yang.

He struggled with drug addiction for 10 years and became a volunteer not long after coming out of rehab for the third time. Three years later, he was employed by the local government as a social worker due to his outstanding work. Yang now helps fight drug abuse by delivering speeches and helping addicts turn their lives around.

"At first, I refused his help, but he kept contacting me every day for three months, and I was moved. He helped me quit drugs and find part-time jobs to earn money," said Chen Xin, a former drug addict.

Yang has a small team of social workers, policemen, psychologists and former drug addicts, such as Chen Xin. He said being part of the team can help former addicts stay clean and use their past experience to help others.

"Addicts are often very stubborn. They don't listen to anyone, but they usually listen to us because we know what they are going through," said Yang.

Working with addicts is not an easy job and requires extra patience. Yang said he's seen many social workers change jobs in the past 10 years, but he remains persistent and hopes he can help more people.

China's drug control situation keeps improving as the amount of drug-related crimes, and the scale of drug abuse has declined, officials said at a press conference held by the Ministry of Public Security on Thursday, three days ahead of the 35th International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

The number of drug-related crimes decreased to 54,000 in 2021 from 140,000 in 2017, with an average annual decline of more than 20 percent for five consecutive years, said officials. 

By the end of 2021, China had nearly 1.49 million registered illicit drug users, down 42.1 percent from 2016, including 121,000 newly identified drug users, down 72.8 percent from 2016, according to the press conference.

Over the past five years, the results of drug rehabilitation have been consolidated. By the end of 2021, around 3.4 million former drug users had stopped taking drugs after three years of rehabilitation, 2.4 times more than in 2016, officials said at the press conference.