TIMECODE

DIALOGUE

DESCRIPTION

01:00:00:00

IN

01:00:08:08

VO: Not so long ago China was declared a drug-free nation.

Drug abuse had no place in the new communist state.

Aston ‘Guangzhou- 2005”

01:00:17:17

VO: But today wherever I look I see heroin.

It’s an embarrassment the authorities handle with severe police controls- addicts risk army-style rehabilitation camps, life imprisonment and even the death penalty. 

So why is heroin on the rise?

SHOTS OF ADDICTS SHOOTING UP ON THE SIDE OF A MOTORWAY- CU AND WIDE.

01:00:34:10

VO: My name is Zhou Hao, I’m a journalist.

Here in Guangzhou- a crowded, industrial city in the south of China- I developed a friendship with a man called Ah Long. He pulled me into a world of drug abuse and peddling, a side of China, long unseen…

TITLE- USING

01:01:10:10

VO: When I met Ah Long he was helping homeless heroin addicts on the streets. He would give them food and, if necessary, money. Even though he’d heard every story in the book.

01:01:20:06

VO: Like this man- who pleads for money to help his friend get to hospital…

01.01:34:10

…but then leaves him on the street to die. And Ah Long to phone the family and explain.

01.01:43:07

 “I’m in Guangzhou.”

“Your son, Liu, he’s almost dead”

“In Guangzhou! He’s not going to last long”

“I’m saying you should come to see him”

“What? Why?”

“Because he’s sick”

“Maybe these next few days”

“I might as well tell you, his body is pretty weak right now”

“Phone me when you get here”

“What can I say? You’d come and have the last sight of him”

“What can I say? You all already know he has AIDS”

“His relationship with your family- I wouldn’t know…”

“This is the only way I can help, got it?”

AH LONG ON THE PHONE TO MAN’S FAMILY AT NIGHT- BUSY ROAD SIDE.

01:03:05:10

Ah Long may look like an average Guangzhou resident. But for two years he has been an addict and a dealer of heroin. He tells me he’s now living in a hostel with his girlfriend and that together they are fighting their addiction.

AH LONG IN BUSTLING STREET

“Even if you gave me 10 000 yuan I wouldn’t sell it to you”

“One day there was this kid, he didn’t do heroin”

“But he wanted to buy 20 yuan of dope”

“Ah Long said to him ‘You don’t even smoke this stuff, why are you buying it?”

“He said, ‘I’ve tried it a few times- pretty exciting’”

“So he hit the kid- kicked his ass down the street”

AH LONG AND AH JUN IN RESTAURANT

01:03:46:15

“It’s useless trying to do good”

“Really I never thought that I’d end up where I am today. And definitely don’t want to be here. Deep inside”

“But I have no choice”

“When I eat every day, even if it’s with you, Hao,

every day I get the leftovers doggy-bagged”

“I go back and give it to those…who don’t have enough to eat”

“Those going hungry, I give them everything really”

“No, it’s not like before, now you take me out to eat”

“Before we had a rule – today you pay, tomorrow I pay”

AH LONG

01:04:43:16

Despite giving to homeless addicts, Ah Long is increasingly dependent on people like myself. 

01:05:05:00

VO: Ah Long seems nervous about us filming him buying heroin- but allows me to follow him.

AH LONG CROSSING A BUSY ROAD

“50, 60, 70, 100”

“What?”

“Give me two”

“I’ll give you the money tonight”

AH LONG BUYING DRUGS BEHIND A TREE. DAY.

01:05:39:24

VO: Ah Long buys heroin in broad daylight. When the dealer demands more money, he says he’ll pay him later. But it’s clear that he’s eager to get out of sight. I wonder why Ah Long allows me to film him like this. Risking exposure and what that means in China’s justice system.

01:06:02:27

VO: Behind the railway tracks, he finds a homeless addict who has been severely beaten by the police.

TRAIN PASSING

“Clean it first, hurry up”

“When you’re done I’ll give you 2 yuan to get something to eat”

“Here use some water, you have to use water to get it clean”

“It’s full now”

“See his head”

01:06:59:19

VO: Suddenly I understand. I’ll show Ah Long as a hero- triumphing over addiction, giving money to homeless addicts for their dinner.…

…and he’ll give me the story I want.

AH LONG WITH HOMELESS ADDICT AND ON DRUGS

“I can tell you now I’m quitting tomorrow”

“Will you be there?”

“Yes”

“Tomorrow I go clean”

“Tomorrow you can be with me, right?”

“Yes”

“I want you to record it. Okay?

“No problem”