香港禁烟史论

The Opium Trade and Its Abolishment in Hong Kong

在英国殖民统治下,鸦片贸易在香港长期存在,其形式由鸦片商从事鸦片转口贸易,然后港府授权私商经营,而后又过渡到港府鸦片专卖,均属垄断经营性质。其原因是港府将鸦片收入作为财政收入的一个主要来源;英国政府及港府推卸鸦片泛滥的责任;港府辩称吸、售鸦片并非罪恶,危害有限;英国政府的禁烟立场不够明确和坚决。香港的鸦片业衰亡的原因是国际社会给英国政府和港府造成了强大的压力;中国内地的禁烟运动更是对香港鸦片业的衰亡产生了重要作用;最后,香港被日本侵占,英国丧失了对该地的统治权,只得终止鸦片贸易。

Under the British colonial rule, the opium trade was a major trade in Hong Kong from the early 1840s to the early 1940s, experiencing the three stages as: the transit trade by opium trader to other parts of China; a monopoly leased to the highest bidder and the government monopoly. The key reason for the long-term trade is that it was large revenue for the Hong Kong government; the British colonists blamed others for the trade; they did not even consider the trade evil and they were hesitating to abolish the trade. The end of the opium trade came under the pressure from the international anti-opium movement, especially from the movement of abolishing the opium trade and consumption launched by the Chinese governments. Finally, the British government had to abolish the trade when Hong Kong was occupied by the Japanese invaders in the Second World War.