Two shrewd Hong Kong entrepreneurs are selling the last gasps of Britain's empire in the form of canned Colonial Air, to mark the territory's return to China.
If there is a way to make a quick buck in Hong Kong's hustling-bustling capitalist system, someone will find it, so here come cans of Colonial Air, selling well at $7 each.Fish and chips and cricket may remain enmeshed in Hong Kong life for years to come after the July 1 handover to China, but colonial airs, graces and pomposity are truly Britain's legacy in Hong Kong, according to local entrepreneurs Jon Resnick and Guy Nicholls.
To recapture all this, they have sealed cans of Hong Kong air. Hundreds of people are buying the souvenirs, but they sniff at a risk.
Colonial Air, which claims to contain 100 percent pure pomposity, warns that one whiff "could lead to extreme arrogance, stiffening of the upper lip or worse."
"We wanted to sum up what it means to be colonial," said Resnick, an American who has been in Hong Kong for 15 years.