Translating into Chinese of the following article
Michael Gove confesses to
taking cocaine when he was younger
The Environment Secretary broke the law by taking cocaine on “several occasions
at social events” when he was a journalist in his 30s.
He said: “I did take drugs. It is something I deeply regret. Drugs damage lives.
They are dangerous and it was a mistake. I look back and I think, I wish I
hadn’t done that.”
Mr Gove, 51, said he did not believe past transgressions should prevent him
becoming Prime Minister, adding: ”It was 20 years ago and yes, it was a mistake.
But I don't believe that past mistakes disqualify you."
As he prepares to launch his formal leadership bid next week, his admission is
likely to start a debate about whether class A drug use should have a bearing on
candidates’ suitability to lead the country.
A new book about Mr Gove claims that he also believes he did a “public service”
by knifing his Vote Leave co-leader Boris Johnson during the 2016 Tory
leadership contest.
Mr Gove made the confession to the Daily Mail on the day it began serialising a
biography of him by political journalist Owen Bennett, which discloses his
drug-taking.
He is the latest of the 11 current candidates for the Tory leadership to admit
to taking drugs.
Boris Johnson, the front-runner for the job, admitted in an interview 11 years
ago that he had snorted cocaine as a 19-year-old and had smoked “dope” before
that.
Rory Stewart, the International Development Secretary, has admitted smoking raw
opium during a trek across Iran; Jeremy Hunt, the Foreign Secretary, admitted to
drinking a cannabis lassi in India, and Dominic Raab has admitted smoking
marijuana when he was younger.
Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary, who is also running for the Tory leadership,
has promised to crack down on middle-class cocaine users who are fuelling
violent crime by creating a market for the illegal drug.
The book Michael Gove: A Man in a Hurry says the Environment Secretary admitted
his past cocaine use to his advisers when he was being “put through his paces”
in the 2016 Tory leadership contest.
As his aides anticipated questions he might be asked, he was asked if he had
ever taken drugs, and replied: “Yes, cocaine.”
He was told not to make the admission, but instead to stick to the line used by
David Cameron that politicians were entitled to a private life before entering
politics - though in the end he was never asked about drugs.
Former Times columnist Mr Gove told the Daily Mail he had taken drugs about 20
years ago when he worked as a journalist and before he was married.
He became an MP in 2005 and entered government as education secretary in 2010.
“The book is correct,” he said. “I did take drugs. Obviously it will be for my
colleagues in Parliament and members of the Conservative Party to decide now if
I should be leader. I think all politicians have lives before politics.
“Certainly when I was working as a journalist I didn’t imagine I would go into
politics or public service. I didn’t act with an eye to that.”
Arguably more damaging to Mr Gove is the revelation that he believes he did a
“public service” by running against Mr Johnson in the 2016 contest, which led to
Mr Johnson and Mr Gove both pulling out and paving the way for Theresa May’s
premiership.
Many Tories have not forgiven Mr Gove for what he did, but in a separate
interview with the Conservative Home website, Mr Gove dismissed claims that he
could not become Tory leader because of the way he “knifed” Mr Johnson.
He refused to say he would give Mr Johnson a Cabinet job if he becomes prime
minister.