The Anti-narcotics Duo of Father and Son

The province of Yunnan in southwestern China has a 4，060-kilometer border with Myanmar， Laos and Vietnam， across which illicit drugs are smuggled through various routes. As such， Yunnan bears the brunt of drug trafficking， with more drugs seized there each year than in any other province in China. Lincang， one of its cities on the border with Myanmar， is adjacent to the notorious Golden Triangle， and therefore is one of the fiercest anti-drug front lines， where 24 policemen have died and more than 100 have been injured in drug related crackdowns since 1982. Among them are Zhang Congshun and Zhang Ziquan， the dedicated father and son duo who made an ultimate sacrifice for the country in the battle against narcotics.

The Fierce  Battle

Zhang Congshun answered the call of duty and joined the army at the age of 20， then traded his army uniform for a police uniform in Junnong Township where he continued his commitment to safeguarding the border. As a frontline police officer， he was fully aware that "the masses are the guardians of the frontier's stability."Junnong Township， located along the border， was riddled with public security issues such as cross-border crimes and even heavily armed traffickers. During his first three months at the Junnong Police Station， Zhang managed to visit all 71 settlements of the 8 villages under the jurisdiction of the township sprawling over 352 square kilometers. He often slept in the wilderness， cooked food over a fire or even ate wild plants raw. His persistence paid off and mobilized thousands of locals to help defend the border.

Junnong Township is located along one of the main routes of cross-border drug trafficking. In order to shield his country from narcotics， Zhang Congshun， together with his comrades， often went to lengths to capture the drug runners， raid the criminal dens and trace the drug sources. In April 1990， Zhang was having a meal when he got a tip-off about two drug dealers. With no time to spare， he put down his chopsticks and set out alone immediately， with a flashlight. It wasn't after a dozen kilometers of tracking that he finally caught up the criminals. He put up a good fight and subdued one of them at knifepoint， and the other was taken care of by his comrades who came to his help. In this operation， they seized 1，400 grams of refined drugs. While on duty， he would encourage his comrades， "As police， it's our duty to crack down on drug crimes. In the face of danger we must neither sit by， nor get cold feet."

On the night of August 31， 1994， Zhang was tipped off about a smuggler with a large amount of drug trying to pass through the area of his jurisdiction， so he promptly set an ambush with his comrades. No sooner had the drug dealer entered the area in the early hours of September 1 than Zhang and his team pounced upon him. Unfortunately， the desperate trafficker detonated a grenade tucked in his waist and five policemen were injured and soaked in blood. One comrade who had narrowly escaped turned on his flashlight， only to discover Zhang seriously wounded， with blood gushing out of his left calf. Zhang， however， continued to instruct the rescue operation， telling them again and again， "I'm okay. Go help those in critical condition first."It was not on their drive to hospital that he was found dead with a pale face. That year， Zhang Congshun's son， Zhang Ziquan， was only 10 years old. At his father's memorial ceremony， with tears in his eyes and fists clenched， the young Zhang declared， "One day I will become a policeman like my father， and track down more drug dealers in his honor."Since then， it became his lifelong pursuit to fill his father's shoes.

Zhang Ziquan vividly remembered how his father used to take him to the border villages on his regular patrols. Once  at the top of the mountain， his father pointed into the distance and said to him， "You see？ That side with forests belongs to another country and this side with the Five-Starred Red Flag billowing in the wind is our motherland. We should always love and protect it as if it were our own lives."

Zhang Ziquan enrolled in Yunnan Police College in 2003， and upon graduation in 2007， he volunteered to dedicate himself to the anti-drug cause at the frontier like his father did. He too fought on the frontlines for many years， all too many times working undercover in the "drug den"like a tightrope walker in imminent danger. As he always said， "He who fears danger should not become a policeman， and he who dreads death should not choose to combat drug trafficking."

Amid an operation to track down a gang of armed drug dealers in 2013， Zhang  Ziquan resolutely fired a warning shot and thwarted the gang's attempt to force their way through the checkpoint. Once the car stopped， he flung  himself to the door， pulled it open， wrestled with the gang， and eventually subdued them all with the help of his comrades. A loaded pistol was found under the driver's seat afterward， and more than 40 kilograms of heroin were seized. Over the nine years since he committed himself to drug control in 2011， Zhang， the junior has helped seize 27.7 tons of narcotics and 1，186.2 tons of drug-making materials. "I love my job in spite of all the dangers，"he once told his comrades.