101 East

China: Smuggling for Survival (2019x35)

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Wang JiJang scans the airport nervously as he prepares to board a flight from the Indian capital, New Delhi, to Beijing. Hidden in his bag are drugs that could send him to prison for years, but Wang is not your typical drug smuggler. He is carrying cancer medication for a friend's sick mother, one of a growing number of Chinese taking extreme risks to obtain drugs deemed illegal in their country. Driven to desperation by the high cost of many pharmaceuticals in China, some travel to India to buy generic versions. Gao Fei relocated to India in 2015 from China to set up a pharmacy after serving a year-long sentence in prison for selling Indian generic drugs. Now his company has 100,000 Chinese customers and makes a substantial profit. But to ensure his packages pass smoothly through Indian customs, Gao says he has to pay bribes. 101 East follows those smuggling to survive.