III. Methodology

Human Rights Watch conducted field research in Beijing and Guangxi province for five weeks between July and August 2007.  In addition to interviews with Chinese government officials and individuals conducting services and outreach to drug users, we interviewed nineteen IDUs, including 15 male and 4 female IDUs, who had been recently confined to mandatory detoxification or RTL centers in the cities of Nanning and Baise in Guangxi Province.

All participants provided oral informed consent to participate and were assured anonymity, including key informants who uniformly requested it as a precondition for providing information. Interviews were conducted in private and individuals were assured that they could end the interview at any time or decline to answer any questions without consequence. All names of IDUs quoted in this report have been changed to protect their identity and for their security.