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A6 WORLD NEWS
Thursday 2 February 2023
Hong Kong bans CBD, forcing businesses to shut or revamp

By KANIS LEUNG “It’s just looking less like an
Associated Press international city,” said Jen-
HONG KONG (AP) — Hong nifer Lo, the owner of CBD
Kong banned CBD as a Bakery, who started selling
“dangerous drug” and im- CBD-infused cheesecakes,
posed harsh penalties for its cookies and drinks in 2021.
possession on Wednesday, Her business largely dried
forcing fledging businesses up even before the ban
to shut down or revamp. took effect, she said.
Supporters say CBD, or “Rumors of the ban af-
cannabidiol, derived from fected how I do business,”
the cannabis plant, can she said. “Some platforms
help relieve stress and in- just took me offline without
flammation without getting telling me. And then it was
its users high, unlike its more not as easy to get space at
famous cousin THC, the markets.”
psychoactive ingredient of To comply with the ban,
marijuana which has long Lo dumped all her remain-
been illegal in Hong Kong. ing stock, including dozens
CBD was once legal in the of cookies, and said she
city, and cafes and shops would have to rebrand her
selling CBD-infused prod- business. Some other ven-
ucts were popular among dors, including the city’s
young people. In this image made from a video, products containing CBD are displayed at a press conference first CBD cafe that opened
But all that has changed by Hong Kong Customs in Hong Kong, Friday, Jan. 27, 2023. in 2020, shut down.
with the prohibition, which Associated Press Karena Tsoi, who used CBD
took effect Wednesday but dangerous drugs in Hong ficulty of isolating pure CBD day, possession of CBD can skincare products for two
had been announced by Kong, a semi-autonomous from cannabis, the possibil- result in up to seven years years to treat her eczema,
the government last year. southern Chinese business ity of contamination with in jail and a 1 million Hong said she will have to find an
CBD-related businesses hub, as well as in mainland THC during the production Kong dollar ($128,000) fine. alternative treatment.
have closed down while China, where CBD was process and the relative Those convicted of import- “It’s troublesome,” she said.
others have struggled to banned in 2022. ease by which CBD can be ing, exporting or producing “The government doesn’t
remodel their businesses. The city maintains several converted to THC. the substance can face have to regulate like this.”
Consumers dumped what categories of “danger- Customs authorities vowed up to life in prison and a 5 Most Asian nations have
they saw as a cure for their ous drugs,” which include last week to do more to million Hong Kong dollar strict drug laws with harsh
ailments into special col- “hard drugs” such as heroin educate residents to help ($638,000) fine. penalties with the excep-
lection boxes set up around and cocaine. them understand that CBD Some users said the ban tion of Thailand, which
the city. In explaining the policy is prohibited in Hong Kong shows the international fi- made marijuana legal to
The new rule reflects a ze- change, the Hong Kong even though it is legal else- nancial hub is going back- cultivate and possess last
ro-tolerance policy toward government cited the dif- where. Starting Wednes- ward. year. q

U.S. opens embassy in Solomon Islands to counter China

By NICK PERRY COVID-19 vaccines, bring- comes as Fiji’s new leader, and exchange agreement business elites, utilizing a
Associated Press ing back Peace Corps vol- Prime Minister Sitiveni Ra- with China. familiar pattern of extrava-
WELLINGTON, New Zealand unteers to several island buka, appears to be reas- The U.S. State Department gant promises, prospective
(AP) — The United States nations, and investing in sessing some aspects of his notified lawmakers early costly infrastructure loans,
opened an embassy in the forestry and tourism proj- nation’s engagement with last year that China’s grow- and potentially dangerous
Solomon Islands on Thurs- ects. China. Rabuka told The Fiji ing influence in the region debt levels,” the depart-
day in its latest move to The opening of the embas- Times last week he planned made reopening the Solo- ment said in a December
counter China’s push into sy in the Solomon Islands to end a police training mon Islands embassy a pri- notice to Congress that
the Pacific. ority. Since then, the Solo- was obtained by The Asso-
The embassy is start- mons has signed a secu- ciated Press.
ing small, with a chargé rity pact with China, raising A senior State Department
d’affaires, a couple of fears of a military buildup in official who insisted on an-
State Department staff the region, and the U.S. has onymity to brief the media
and a handful of local em- countered by sending sev- said the U.S. had been en-
ployees. The U.S. previously eral high-level delegations. couraged by the Solomon
operated an embassy in The Solomon Islands Islands’ commitment to
the Solomon Islands for five switched allegiance from continue working with tra-
years before closing it in the self-ruled island of Tai- ditional security partners
1993 as part of a global re- wan to Beijing in 2019, such as Australia and the
duction in diplomatic posts threatening the close ties U.S., but remained con-
after the end of the Cold with the U.S. that date back cerned about the secrecy
War. to World War II. surrounding the security
But China’s bold moves in “We are seeing this bond agreement with China.
the region have the U.S. weaken as the People’s He said any type of mili-
seeking to increase its en- Ships are docked offshore in Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Republic of China aggres- tarization in the Pacific by
gagement in a number of Islands, Nov. 24, 2018. sively seeks to engage Sol- China would be a great
ways, such as by donating Associated Press omon Islands’ political and concern.q