Infusion of green tea and ice?

When Zhang Yuan was busted by the Beijing Police for doing drugs, it was captured by the Beijing TV program, Law Enforcement in Progress (法治进行时).

The program was aired only once, but it found a considerable online audience. Chinese media quickly found anonymous sources who speculated on the extent of Zhang's drug use and whether he had snuck drug references past the watchful eyes of SARFT censors - the green tea leaves in Green Tea (绿茶) can be used to filter meth; Zhang supposedly changed the name of Xu Jinglei's character in I Love You (我爱你) to Xiao Ju (小菊, "little chrysanthemum") because that was the drug he took every day during filming.

The entertainment weekly BQ addressed all of this sensationalism last week in interviews with three knowledgeable individuals: Xu Tao, the producer of Law Enforcement in Progress, Yang Jinsong, a former entertainment journalist and current publicity supervisor for Poly-Huayi Media, and Shi Yuchen, a Beijing-based lawyer.

Xu Tao: Zhang Yuan deserves respect, too

Like Xie Dong's drug incident in June, 2007, the earliest report on Zhang Yuan's involvement with drugs was performed by Beijing TV's Law Enforcement in Progress program. Host and producer Xu Tao agreed to an interview with this magazine, during which he revealed that equality and respect are the two most fundamental principles of his program.

BQ: After Law Enforcement in Progress reported on Zhang Yuan's alleged drug use, we could not help but wonder this occurred once again in the entertainment world. Why was Law Enforcement in Progress the quickest to respond?
Xu Tao: Many people wonder why our program has so many of these opportunities. It's not because we're incredibly smart or that we have genius reporters. These scoops come out of tireless action. That is enough.

BQ: How do you balance the scope of this type of report?
Xu: We have two principles for this sort of report. First, everyone is equal before the law, regardless of who you are. This includes our previous report on Xie Dong, and other episodes involving other stars that frequently show up in our program. Everyone is equal before the law—we are especially happy to see that this legal principle is becoming increasingly solid, and we have drawn inspiration from that fact. Second, everyone involved deserves respect, Zhang Yuan included—we accorded him sufficient respect.

BQ: Give an example of how you did that in the program.
Xu: When we were reviewing the segment in post, we discovered that Zhang Yuan's hair was wild due to the relative hurry he was in. Later, he straightened it a bit, but it was all over the place at the beginning. This showed up in a few shots later. But this did not really add anything to the realism of the segment—we didn't use that shot to say anything meaningful. What was important was the result of his urine test. So we decided that the shot was unnecessary and we told the director to eliminate all of them. We felt that he deserved respect just as much as the next person; he had simply made a mistake. We look forward to even better movies in the future. After the program was aired, lots of people in the audience called us up to ask us to rebroadcast. We thought it over carefully before deciding not to, because what we wanted him to see was our hope for his future.

BQ: I've actually noticed that although you've broadcast things like the Xie Dong incident, you maintain your own stance on the issues.
Xu: Right. We don't follow anyone else. We don't do follow-up broadcasts, including in the case of Zhang Yuan. Respect is one of the positions we take. We want to tell everyone that things shouldn't be like this. When he breaks the law he is just like everyone else. But exchange him for a common drug user—would people want to watch that over and over? Of course not, so we should treat Zhang Yuan like an ordinary individual. This is profoundly humane, but not everyone can see that.

BQ: Drug cases frequently appear on Law Enforcement in Practice. As the host of a legal program, what are your impressions of drug problems in society, including the entertainment world?
Xu: I believe that it is not a widespread phenomenon. Having been in contact with that side of things, my understanding is that the vast majority of people have been tempted but have not been led astray. This is point one. Second, this is related to certain aspects of the entertainment world itself. The people there are playing a role, and I believe that some people cannot distinguish when they are acting from when they are living their lives. When they are acting, they can ride the whirlwind and be master of everything, but nothing will happen as a result. But then this takes shape as a way of life: they think that they are untouchable, that only other people will be arrested. This is, I think, a definite mistake. Acting is acting, and is utterly distinct from real life, just like real life is something completely different from the Internet.

A friend: Zhang Yuan is an enthusiastic and understanding director

Yang Jinsong, the current head of publicity for Poly-Huayi, interviewed Zhang Yuan regarding his films Green Tea, I Love You, and the Peking Opera film Sister Jiang while he was a reporter for the Beijing Times. Because of work, and because they both are from Jiangsu, Yang has interacted with Zhang multiple times.

BQ: You've met with Zhang several times. What sort of a person is he?
Yang Jinsong: We've met through work a couple of times, and last year when he was a judge on the My Hero program, I went with him. He gets up at 8 or 9 every morning, and he's certainly not one of those people who hits the drugs right away. Zhang Yuan lives a normal life, very healthy.

BQ: Did you watch the entire broadcast? Was anything different from your normal impression of Zhang Yuan?
Yang: I saw it. I don't think there was much of a difference. It was like he had been drinking, but his logic was still relatively clear. Perhaps it was because the police who came in were plain-clothes that he said to them, "I don't know who you are, charging into my house." I think that this is a normal response. Zhang Yuan likes to drink and has a decent tolerance. When we go out he likes to have beer. When we have something really good, like crabs, he likes strong alcohol. So he doesn't seem like someone who's a long-time drug user. Those people don't usually drink.

BQ: The media is now reporting that there are traces of Zhang Yuan's drug use in the films Green Tea and I Love You.
Yang: The films Green Tea and I Love You belong to our company. I don't know who the source of this information is—he didn't reveal a name. If it's true, then he should have the courage to cooperate openly with the police. When I went to interview the Green Tea production team, Zhang Yuan behaved completely normally. He had no bad habits, but was completely focused. Some media outlets are reporting that Green Tea and I Love You are movies infused with drug use. I find this sort of thing trivial and irrelevant. The script for Green Tea was decided on long ago, and I'm amazed at media reports saying that the green tea that Vicki Zhao drinks was actually used to filter drugs. Not everything can be connected to drugs—that's a forced conclusion.

A lawyer: Everyone is equal before the law

Regarding the punishment Zhang Yuan may face, this magazine consulted Shi Yuchen of Beijing's King & Capital Law Firm.

BQ: What is the legal nature of Zhang Yuan's alleged drug use? What sort of punishment is the norm?
Shi Yuchen: He was merely a user, not a dealer. From a legal standpoint, dealing drugs is a criminal offense, but using drugs is a misdemeanor. Our country has compulsory measures for this - compulsory rehabilitation. Controlling drug use primarily seeks to protect the individual. Zhang Yuan is a one-time offender, which typically does not result in compulsory rehab. If there is the possibility of further use, then rehab will be used after a second incident. That typically means a six-month session in rehab.

BQ: In this instance, there were many people doing drugs at Zhang Yuan's house. Is the punishment any more serious for group drug use?
Shi: Group drug use is not defined in the law, so a stricter punishment than for individual drug use can only be carried out through administrative means according to the Law on Public Order Management and Punishment. This falls under the purview of the public security bureau, and the specifics of carrying it out are up to them. From a legal standpoint, we must consider that public figures are the same as ordinary individuals, and when they exceed the bounds of morality and break the law, they too must face corresponding legal sanctions.