Reality can be a bitter pill to swallow

Perhaps the maker of Lianhua Qingwen never anticipated the controversy that has now engulfed the herbal capsules after their early "success" in the mainland.

The capsules have been so popular among the Chinese - including overseas Chinese communities - during the Covid pandemic that even the Hong Kong government has secured millions of boxes to include them in its care packs for free distribution to the public.

Shanghai has followed suit amid its struggle to stamp out the virus at community levels.

It's a gold mine for maker Shijiazhuang Yiling Pharmaceutical in the absence of competitors in China.

Since the start of the pandemic, its share price has risen over 260 percent despite concerns voiced by some health authorities elsewhere.

New Zealand bans it because it contains an ingredient that is illegal in the country, while Singapore says Lianhua Qingwen cannot treat Covid, but it may relieve symptoms similar to the cheaper paracetamol.

The US Food and Drug Administration has issued similar advice.

It may be ironic, but New Zealand's ban on Lianhua Qingwen and Singapore's warnings to its citizens against using the capsules to treat Covid failed to cause the stock price of the pharmaceutical company to tumble by double digits - unlike a mainland internet post and an article in the public domain.

Perhaps Shijiazhuang Yiling Pharmaceutical's stock price tumble was not exactly due to the critical post by internet influencer Wang Sicong and the disputing article on Chinese health platform Dingxiang Yisheng, but to the extraordinary fact that both have survived the strict state censorship.

What is the difference between now and then?

As Omicron waves impact Shanghai and other mainland cities, has Lianhua Qingwen gone out of favor with Chinese leaders?

Is it true that the efficacy of this Chinese traditional herbal product - fueled by a thumbs-up from high-profile figures including head of the National Health Commission's expert group for Covid, Zhong Nanshan - has been overblown to such a high degree?

I don't know, but one may at least draw clues of probable relevance from these curious episodes of naming and blaming.

This could be relevant to how Hong Kong has been handling the controversial capsules that Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has also had a part in promoting.

The SAR is known to have a rigorous regime regulating the use of medicines and there have been incidents of regulatory actions against Chinese herbal products containing controlled drugs.

Whether Lianhua Qingwen falls in this category or not, the best way to deal with it - as well as all others - is to follow the established protocol rather than being influenced by political consideration or the desires of some leading officials.

The growing concerns over the efficacy of Lianhua Qingwen in the mainland show it is all the more necessary to uphold the SAR 's regulatory regime on medicines at a time of crisis to make sure the system is sound and robust.

Both Chinese and Western medicines are valuable and should be handled with due diligence and care.