ChemistryForever - 24-3-2019 at 10:52
As a curiosity, is there anyone from China/Japan/Korea here ? How are the laws there about chemistry ?
Mr. Rogers - 25-3-2019 at 04:51
If I need anything now I get if from China on Ebay.
Loptr - 25-3-2019 at 08:28
It's interesting to note the mind set of most of those new or unfamiliar with it, where some of their first questions are about whether it legal or
not. I just find it interesting.
Most people I talk to in the USA think everything is illegal, or it seems like they do. I will say something, and will either get a strange look or be
asked with a surprised tone "you're allowed to to do that?" or "isn't that illegal?"
I do not derive my freedom from the government. It is an innate thing, that is acknowledged. It can be impinged upon, and is with law, but those are
things we have accepted as necessary for a civil society.
I know the OP was asking about China, but it's interesting the default thoughts and opinions.
[Edited on 25-3-2019 by Loptr]
[Edited on 25-3-2019 by Loptr]
AntS - 20-6-2022 at 12:11
I've been ghosting here for a long time, so this is my first post here 
but I
believe that I can share some of my experiences as a high school student (born in Taiwan, then lived in Singapore - not the countries OP was asking
but perhaps still of interest) I'm interested to know if there are others practicing hobby chemistry in Asia as well.
Taiwan is extremely friendly to hobbyists. There is a chemistry equipment vendor near my old junior high (I believe it is still operating) which my
school's science department purchased reagants and equipment from and which any student could walk in to buy stuff for science projects, for example.
Some of the more dangerous chemicals can only be purchased by an adult (for example, when I inquired about that 1 kilogram bottle of mecuric chloride
sitting on a shelf, but that is understandable I suppose). Most of the basic glassware I bought there are from locally made companies (which I've
never had a problem with extended reflux and distillations), and most reagents are imported from Japanese chemical suppliers
Singapore is extremely strict on the other hand. I tried getting my hands on dilute 1M sodium hydroxide solution once, but that required a laboratory
permit to order. Buying stuff from Malaysia next door is a lot easier, though there is the high risk of it getting confiscated at customs. I basically
dropped my hobby because it was too difficult to continue (though the chemical education I got at my school was very good - typical of the STEM
obssessed East Asia, I suppose - there was at least 1 hour of actual lab work every week and we got to do a fair bit of organic chemistry synthesis).