Home > News > Doping Control >

China's Basic Stand on Anti-Doping

2004-03-27 14:54 COC Anti-Doping Commission

    Doping refers to use of medical substances and methods that go against sport and medical ethics and thus is banned by international sports organizations. International Olympic movement developed vigorously in the 20th century in the world but at the same time the abuse of stimulant drugs became an international problem drawing great concern.

    China's sports circles knew little about doping before the 1980s. However, this "international nuisance" began to find its way into China as the nation's exchanges with the outside word expanded and sports competition became tenser and tenser, especially because of various adverse influence brought along by the commercialization of sports. To deal with this problem, the Chinese government department in charge of physical culture and sports — the State Commission for Physical Culture and Sports (SCPCS), now the State Sport General Administration, promulgated a number of documents in 1985 and 1987 requiring faithful implementation of the International Olympic Committee's rules on banning stimulant drugs. However, official drug testing was not all-roundly carried out because China did not have necessary technical means at that time, and also because the country was not fully aware of, and alert to, the seriousness of the problem.

    On May 3, 1989, SCPCS commissioner summoned a meeting specially devoted to the study of the issue of doping which had become increasingly worrying both domestically and internationally. The meeting officially promulgated the principle of "seriously banning, strictly examining and severely punishing" doping. In December the same year, the China Doping Control Centre passed the IOC accreditation and officially went into operation. These marked a new beginning of an all-round anti-doping drive in China.

    The "Three S" principle epitomizes the basic stand of the Chineseg government and sports circles on anti-doping. As an immoral behaviour of cheating doping harms athletes both physically and mentally. It goes against the international principle of "fair play" as well as China's current laws. It should be pointed out that China favours the principles and policies stipulated in the "International Olympic Charter against Doping in Sport", the "Lausanne Declaration on Doping in Sport " and the "Sydney Communiqué". The "Three S" principle completely accords with these documents.

    Over the past years, China has consistently followed the "Three S" principle and taken a series of forceful measures to crack down on doping. Remarkable results have been achieved and were highly spoken of by many international figures, including former IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch, who said that China is one of the countries doing best in anti-doping in the world.

    China has shown a strong support to World Anti-Doping Agency, which seeks to foster a doping free culture in sport, ever since its creation in November 1999. In March 2003, a Chinese delegation headed by Vice Sports Minister Yu Zaiqing attended the World Conference on Doping in Sport held in Copenhagen, Denmark, a gathering aimed at harmonizing the global rules and sanctions related to doping in sport. On behalf of the Chinese government Yu Zaiqing signed the Copenhagen Declaration on Doping in Sport and the World Anti-doping Code, an expression of the Chinese sports authorities' determination to fight doping in sport to the finish.

    Policies & Regulations:

    The State Sport General Administration has over the years drafted and promulgated 30 decrees on the basis of China's "Sports Law", which constitutes the central part of China's law system for anti-doping in sport.

    They include:

    1. Chinese government has issued a number of decrees on the basis of the "Law of the People's Republic of China on Pharmaceutical Administration" (1984) to strengthen supervision over medicines and their circulation. Especially, the making of the regulations on supervising and administering anesthetics, psychoactive drugs, ephedrine, and prescribed and non-prescribed medicines has provided important legal grounds for controlling the medicinal source of doping.

    2. The "Rules on Administration of Chinese Medicines for Health Building" (1987);

    3. The "Provisional Regulations on Doping Control in National Sports Events" (1989);

    4. The "Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Minors" (1991);

    5. The "Notice of Conducting Out-of-competition Doping Control" (1993);

    6. The "Provisional Regulations on Control over Athletes' Use of Health Building Tonics" (1993);

    7. The "SCPCS's Decisions on Strengthening the Fight Against Doping" (1994);

    8. The Regulations on Out-of-competition Doping Control" (1995);

    9. The "Notice of Strengthening the Work of Anti-Doping and Seriously Dealing with Offence against Doping Control" (1995);

    10. The "Provisional Regulations on Sanctions Imposed on Coaches Whose Athlete Conmmits Doping Offence" (1995);

    11. The "Decisions on Giving Full Play to the Role of Disciplinary Inspection Authorities to Guarantee the Implementation of Rules Prohibiting Doping in Sports" (1995);

    12. The "Regulations on Administration of Health Food" (1996);

    13. The "Specific Regulations on Seriously Dealing with Offence against Doping Control" (1997);

    14. The "Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China" (revised in 1997);

    15. The "Provisional Regulations on Strict Prohibition of Doping in Sports" (Provisional, 1998);

    16. The "Provisional Rules on Management of Doping Control Staff" (1998);

    17. The "Trial Methods for pre-competition Blood Test Energy-Involving Sports" (1999).

    18. The "Law of the People's Republic of China on Executive Doctors".

    Anti-doping Regulations Issued by Chinese Sports Associations:

    In order to promote the anti-doping drive all over China under the direction of the Anti-doping Commission of the Chinese Olympic Committee, a number of national sports associations have issued anti-doping regulations of their sports, among which are weightlifting, track and field, Cycling and swimming as well as other associations.

    1. Strict Prohibition of Using Banned Substances in the Sport of Weightlifting (Issued by China Weightlifting Administration Centre, February 1, 1991)

    2. The Application of Anti-doping Measurements for Track and Field (Issued By China Track and Field Administration Centre, June 1991)

    3. Strict Prohibition of Using Banned Substances in the Sport of Cycling (Issued by China Cycling Association, May 1, 1999)

    4. A Notification of Serious Anti-doping Work in the Sport of Swimming (Issued by China Swimming Administration Centre, January 27, 2003)

Related Story