Secretary for Health meets delegation of National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (with photos)
15.5.2023

The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, met with a delegation led by the Party Group Member of the National Health Commission cum Party Secretary of the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (NATCM), Professor Yu Yanhong, today (May 15) to discuss issues relevant to promoting the development of Chinese medicine (CM). Professor Lo said, "I would like to express my sincere gratitude towards the NATCM for their staunch support for the development of CM in Hong Kong all along, particularly by appointing CM experts to participate in the construction of and preparation for the commissioning of Hong Kong's first Chinese Medicine Hospital (CMH), supporting the implementation of the Training Programme of Advanced Clinical Talents in Chinese Medicine and its medium/short-term pilot training programmes during the early stage, supporting the research work undertaken by the Government Chinese Medicines Testing Institute (GCMTI) and concerning the Hong Kong Chinese Materia Medica Standards, inviting Hong Kong to participate in the National Survey on Chinese Materia Medica Resources, facilitating the CM talent exchange and nurturing programmes, as well as backing Hong Kong in enhancing its role proactively in the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) CM Highlands. In March this year, I led a delegation to Beijing to call on the NATCM and meet with Secretary Yu. The work of the Health Bureau was recognised and supported by Secretary Yu and the NATCM. Today's meeting has enabled us to reinforce our discussion and joint efforts in taking forward the implementation of the work for the development of CM in the future. In particular, the NATCM provides great support for the development of Hong Kong's CMH, standard-setting for CM in the GBA and exchanges of CM professionals, etc. "CM has all along been an integral part of Hong Kong's healthcare system. The Chief Executive announced multiple policy initiatives in the 2022 Policy Address, including formulation of the overall CM development blueprint in collaboration with the CM sector to drive further the long-term development of CM in Hong Kong on all fronts in a more focused manner, in areas such as CM service and industry development as well as collaboration with the Mainland, GBA and international community. "The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government will continue to maintain close contact with stakeholders in the Mainland and around the world, in a bid to deepen exchanges and co-operation with various places in the field of CM on the principle of complementarity and mutual benefits. We will leverage Hong Kong's traditional strengths in CM and give full play to the city's important role as the country's gateway to international markets to promote the inheritance, innovation, and high-quality development of CM with our utmost effort. We are committed to working together to build a 'Healthy Hong Kong' for integration into the national strategy of 'Healthy China'." The NATCM delegation arrived in Hong Kong yesterday (May 14) for a four-day visit. During their stay, the delegation will meet with stakeholders of the CM sector and relevant organisations, listen to reports from the Hospital Authority (HA) on the GBA CM Visiting Scholars Programme and integrated Chinese-Western medicine co-operation, and visit a hospital ward to get a grasp of the latest developments. The delegation will also visit the construction site of the CMH and the GCMTI as well as the School of CM of a university. In addition, on behalf of the National Health Commission, Professor Yu will attend the Hospital Authority Convention and the Asia Summit on Global Health to be held in the next few days. Officers including the Permanent Secretary for Health, Mr Thomas Chan; the Under Secretary for Health, Dr Libby Lee; the Director of Health, Dr Ronald Lam; the Chief Executive of the HA, Dr Tony Ko; the Deputy Secretaries for Health Mr Sam Hui and Mr Eddie Lee; the Project Director of the Chinese Medicine Hospital Project Office of the Health Bureau, Dr Cheung Wai-lun; the Controller of Regulatory Affairs of the Department of Health, Dr Amy Chiu; and the Director of Cluster Services of the HA, Dr Simon Tang, also attended the meeting.