HK gets tough on Chinese medicine

HONG KONG/BEIJING - A sudden change to laws regulating the proprietary Chinese medicine (pCm) industry in Hong Kong could render nearly one-third of local pCm products illegal and turn unwitting users into criminals.

Representatives of the pCm industry issued a joint call in Hong Kong on Thursday, urging authorities to postpone the activation date of the new regulation on pCm registration, though the government said it would not delay the implementation.

The Food and Health Bureau of Hong Kong made an unexpected announcement on Nov 27 that all unregistered pCm will be forbidden in Hong Kong from Dec 3.