Chinese Medicine Festival –celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the establishment of the HKSAR
To celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), the Hong Kong Baptist University 's (HKBU) School of Chinese Medicine jointly organised a Chinese Medicine Festival with HKJCICM and six other organisations. The Officiating Guests at the opening ceremony were Mr. Wang Guoqiang, Vice Minister, Ministry of Health; and Director General, State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, PRC; Mr. Li Gang, Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in HKSAR; Dr. York Chow, Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food; Dr. Lam Ping-yan, Director of Health; Mr. Anthony Wu, Chairman of Hospital Authority; Mr Wilfred Wong, Chairman of the Council and the Court, HKBU; Professor Ng Ching-fai, President and Vice-Chancellor, HKBU; and Professor Liu Liang, Dean of School of Chinese Medicine, HKBU.
Speaking at the ceremony, Vice Minister Wang introduced the national policy and status of development of Chinese medicine in the mainland. During the ten years’ period since the return of sovereignty to China, he acclaimed the rapid developments of Chinese medicine in Hong Kong and the contributions made towards assuring the health of its citizens. He encouraged the CM sectors in the mainland and Hong Kong to continue to work together and leverage on each other’s strengths in promoting the traditional Chinese medicine culture and in advancing human health.
Since the establishment of the HKSAR and implementation of the Rule of Law, significant progress of Chinese medicine development has been made in the legislature, regulatory system, education, research, technology, industrialisation, medical care and health services, as widely acknowledged by Chinese medicine experts, researchers and policy makers within and outside Hong Kong. Since the enactment of the Chinese Medicine Ordinance in 1999, Chinese medicine formally received its legal status in Hong Kong. The establishment of the Chinese Medicine Council of Hong Kong as a statutory body also led to the setting up of the regulatory system for Chinese medicine practitoners, including regulatory measures for registration, examination and discipline of Chinese medicine practitioners. Regulatory measures relating to Chinese medicines cover the licensing of Chinese medicines traders and registration of proprietary Chinese medicines. With the steer over the development by the SAR Government, Chinese medicine has become a core part of the public health system in Hong Kong.
The week-long Chinese Medicine Festival was held from 26 June to 1 July. Programmes included Chinese Medicine Development Forum, Health Forum, the largest scale of free Chinese medicine medical consultations, visits to the “Chinese Medicine Street” and Chinese herbal gardens and exhibitions. Renowned speakers for the two Forums covered topics on overview and prospects of CM development, health cultivation and diets, development potential and uniqueness of Chinese medicine in health promotion and treatment of illnesses, e.g in the areas of ageing-related cardio and cerebral vascular disorders. As a Chinese cultural event celebrating the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the HKSAR, the variety of events and activities within the Chinese Medicine Festival helped promote the traditional Chinese medicine culture and service the citizens in Hong Kong.
Organised by HKBU, the one-week festival was the sole Chinese medicine-related event among the accredited events for the 10th anniversary celebrations. The seven co-organisers were Hong Kong Jockey Club Institute of Chinese Medicine, Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, Yan Chai Hospital, Haven of Hope Christian Service, Hong Kong Registered Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Hong Kong Chinese Medicine Merchants Association. The event was sponsored by Eu Yan Sang (Hong Kong) Limited.
|
