This is a TV drama inspired by a true story, and its Douban rating has reached 7.9. It is currently one of the most faithful adaptations of its real-life prototype. No legitimate government openly supports drugs, as the dangers of drugs have been clearly evident to the world for over a century. Most of the dissatisfaction and criticism are due to the camera shaking too much and Duan Yihong's acting being a bit exaggerated. However, the overall storyline closely follows the real-life prototype: the story of Liu Zhaohua.
The drama specifically mentions Myanmar, Thailand, the Netherlands, and Mexico, all regions plagued by drug issues. However, legitimate governments are all committed to fighting drugs. If you watch the entire series and listen to what Lu Shaohua says in the final episode, which is almost identical to what the real Liu Zhaohua said, and see how the director addresses Liu Zhaohua's twisted logic: "Producing drugs harms people; being executed is deserved, while dying from illness is a peaceful death," you'll realize how valuable this work is.
In other words, the political awareness you mentioned is not defined by China alone; the harm of drugs is universally recognized. The scenes shot in the Golden Triangle, Mexico, and the real drug bust in the final episode vividly depict the life-and-death struggle between drug dealers and police. If it weren't for the basic legal rights of international governments, powerful countries would have long eradicated them. The deeper reasons you mentioned are nothing but **knots and profit-driven issues. You can think of it this way: China is one of the strictest countries against drugs, with a death penalty for 20 grams. Yet, why are there figures like Liu Zhaohua with 30 tons** in existence? Why are there drug dealer villages like Shanwei in China? The reason is that the economic value of drugs is more expensive than gold, leading people to risk their lives for money. Not to mention the tragedy in Mexico, where the government is weaker than the drug cartels.
Fighting drugs is extremely difficult but necessary. Otherwise, the harm to society is too great; anyone who gets involved with drugs is essentially ruined, and it destroys entire families. No one wants such things to happen to themselves, and no country wants its citizens to become walking corpses.
Bad people are bad, and there's no way to justify them. Everything is for money, including the protection umbrellas, and there's no way to justify them either. Many people watching the drama tend to project themselves into it, thinking they are smarter than the bosses in the show or smarter than the director or anyone else. They often say things like "I laughed" or "I laughed to death." In reality, we are just ordinary people, and there are many people far smarter and braver than us.
These are just the basic stories between criminals and police. Currently, there are deeper harms, such as the Qing dynasty remnants being whitewashed in films, Japanese spies altering history in the education system, and the harm of the U.S. peaceful evolution leading to the feminization of Asia. Judging by the current trends on the internet, these issues have already been noticed.
The next more direct work, "731," is about to be released, and it's something to look forward to.
It's okay to criticize, but in the face of major issues, you must understand the basic principles. With your level of intelligence and the courage of a keyboard warrior, even if you enter the villain camp of your desired drama, you wouldn't survive past one episode. In the real world of criminal teams, if you have no value, you're dealt with with a single shot, without any chance to speak.
