If they make them in China, Why are they Illegal in Hong Kong?

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Rorschach

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Hmmm China is so diverse and confused in and of itself it's difficult to make generalizations.

Hong Kong and Tibet aren't really on the same level. Very few in HK have any REAL inclination to not be part of Mainland China. Of course some people wish the Brits were back (India struggles with the same problem of identity), but what's on people's minds is not really sovereignty.

In addition to the issue of money from taxes on Ecigs and why they are banned in HK, Hong Kong's Health Ministry is extremely vigilant whether or not they can back things up with sound evidence. It's just a byproduct of what's struck HK in the last decade. We've had to deal with avian influenza several times as well as SARS.

One of the moves to combat epidemics for example was to make it illegal to spit or throw cigarettes away on the ground. This happened after I left Hong Kong and every time I go back it see how much cleaner the city is because of it.

Hong Kong's government doesn't fully understand the ecig and takes preventive measures. They'd rather err on the side of caution. If ecigs end up being completely safe and beneficial and TAXABLE, there's no reason for HK to be ecig friendly again.

They've just dealt with too many crises to not be overly cautious.
 

UptownRiot

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Recently I read an article which claims the Chinese started making government employees smoke to boost state produced cigarette sales. Makes sense they wouldn't want anything to cut into their profits.

You have a post-it on your face, and thus I find it difficult to take you seriously.
 

Kelly79

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Jul 7, 2009
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I'd like to say you've made a big mistake and will hurt the feelings of Chinese people if you say so. Chinese government possesses absolute sovereignty over Special Administrative Regions like HK and Macao; but offers a high degree of autonomy to the governments of these special regions, like they can have their own currency, laws (if not incompatible to the central laws), even their own social systems (capitalism & socialism). The leaders of these regions are native and elected by the local people, but he need to get an approval and report his work to the central government every year during the People's Congress. Second, these special regions have their own Justice systems, but it's not allowed to own their TROOPS. So this sovereignty is not just on paper. Not even because it's off the coast of China.

So they're similar to states, and their leaders similar to governors? Please correct me if this isn't a good analogy, I just find this interesting and am trying to find a perspective through which I can understand better.
 

Rorschach

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So they're similar to states, and their leaders similar to governors? Please correct me if this isn't a good analogy, I just find this interesting and am trying to find a perspective through which I can understand better.

Kind of......But the US is way more united than Macau, Hong Kong and Mainland China.

I would say the individual Chinese Provinces like Guangzhou and Zhejiang are more like states. Big freaking states at that.

Hong Kong has its own currency and commerce laws. Even drive on a different (English) side of the road than China. And passage between mainland China and Hong Kong is much harder than driving over a state border.

In addition to this, any Chinese citizen isn't allowed to just go in and live in HK. They would have to go through an immigration process that is much more difficult than getting a new driver's license or State ID.

Perhaps the most telling difference between HK and Mainland China is the lifestyle. HK spent 100 years as a colony of the UK and that has made it a trading port and crossroads of culture. People in HK on the whole make more, have access to more good and services, for the large part get better education than mainlanders.

But they have TINY Apartments!

Had a 1,200 Sq foot apartment in HK that cost $8,000 US a month.
EEK
 

chad

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Kind of......But the US is way more united than Macau, Hong Kong and Mainland China.

I would say the individual Chinese Provinces like Guangzhou and Zhejiang are more like states. Big freaking states at that.

Hong Kong has its own currency and commerce laws. Even drive on a different (English) side of the road than China. And passage between mainland China and Hong Kong is much harder than driving over a state border.

In addition to this, any Chinese citizen isn't allowed to just go in and live in HK. They would have to go through an immigration process that is much more difficult than getting a new driver's license or State ID.

Perhaps the most telling difference between HK and Mainland China is the lifestyle. HK spent 100 years as a colony of the UK and that has made it a trading port and crossroads of culture. People in HK on the whole make more, have access to more good and services, for the large part get better education than mainlanders.

But they have TINY Apartments!

Had a 1,200 Sq foot apartment in HK that cost $8,000 US a month.
EEK

Yep - Hong Kong is almost like a different country than mainland.
 
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