Briefs | HK customs busts largest cannabis trafficking case in a decade

Hong Kong customs seized about 70 kilograms of suspected cannabis buds at Hong Kong International Airport last week, the largest cannabis trafficking case detected by the customs at the airport in the past decade, an official statement said yesterday. Customs officers on Jan. 17 found the batch of suspected cannabis buds inside 32 speakers wrapped with tinfoil and vacuum bags, which arrived in Hong Kong from Canada. After follow-up investigations, a 50-year-old man suspected to be involved in the case has been arrested, and was released on bail pending further investigation. The customs said cannabis and controlled cannabinoids, such as tetrahydro-cannabinol, are controlled dangerous drugs in Hong Kong and it is a criminal offense to bring such products into Hong Kong. Trafficking in dangerous drugs could lead to life imprisonment and a fine of 5 million Hong Kong dollars (about $650,000).

Guangzhou will no longer fire staff for having more than two kids

Guangzhou will no longer dismiss civil servants and staff from state-owned companies if they violate family planning policies by having too many children, according to China Daily. Late last year, controversy brewed when a police officer in Yunfu city surnamed Xue was fired from his job when he was found to have had four children－one with his former wife and three with his current wife. Local police defended dismissing Xue for violating the family planning policies while many people said he should only have faced the same fines as everyone else. The Guangdong Provincial People’s Congress has recently urged cities and departments in the province to remove inappropriate family planning regulations after the country allowed Chinese couples to give birth to a second child. Many local residents are also in favor of removing such family planning regulations, according to China Daily.

SUSTech launches joint neuroscience center with Australian university

Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), a rising research university based in Shenzhen, has launched a joint center for neuroscience and neural engineering with a leading Australian university. The project was approved in 2019 after four years of close collaboration with the University of Queensland in the fields of neuroscience and neural engineering, according to SUSTech. Chen Shiyi, president of SUSTech, said the joint center will promote bilateral technological development that will enrich brain science research with more profound knowledge and wisdom. It is an opportunity for the city of Shenzhen to transform basic research into clinical applications, he noted. More than 50 experts and scholars in the field, including members of the leadership of both universities, attended the launch ceremony held at SUSTech’s Shenzhen campus.