China to build more drug rehab institutions

BEIJING - The Chinese government is planning to increase the capacity of the nation's voluntary drug rehab centers, said Minister of Justice Wu Aiying here on Wednesday.

Since 2006, a total of 25 such rehab centers have been operating in 14 provinces and have taken in about 51,000 drug addicts, Wu said at a meeting.

The centers are open to drug users who volunteer to receive rehabilitation treatment and those who leave compulsory drug rehab facilities but want further medical and psychological help.

The government will build more rehab centers in more provinces, according to Wu.

In China, serious drug addicts are usually locked up in compulsory drug rehab facilities by police. The compulsory isolation lasts for two years.

About 922,000 Chinese participated in compulsory isolation for drug rehabilitation over the past four years, showed a report by the Ministry of Public Security in June last year.