Policy Address

Chinese Medicine Development

148. The Government will actively promote the development of Chinese medicine in Hong Kong. We will:

1. promote testing of and scientific research on Chinese medicine – Leveraging on the platform of the Government Chinese Medicines Testing Institute, we will accelerate the promotion of Chinese medicine informatisation and digitalisation, and facilitate the sharing of information. For instance, a Digitalised Chinese Medicines Information Platform will be launched early next year for Chinese medicine identification and educational purposes;

2. formulate the Chinese Medicine Development Blueprint – The recruitment exercise for the post of Commissioner for Chinese Medicine Development is at its the final stage. It is anticipated that the Commissioner can assume office early next year, who will co-ordinate the professional and policy development of Chinese medicine, and liaise with the Chinese medicine sector to formulate a comprehensive Chinese Medicine Development Blueprint for release in 2025;

3. strengthen integrated Chinese-Western medicine services – Starting from 2023-24, Chinese medicine rehabilitation will be incorporated to the clinical framework for "stroke care", and a new pilot project on "cancer care" will be launched at day chemotherapy centres. We will continue to explore the extension of integrated Chinese-Western medicine services to cover more disease areas, such as elderly degenerative diseases; and

4. take forward the preparatory work for Hong Kong's first Chinese Medicine Hospital (CMH) – The first CMH in Hong Kong is expected to commence service in phases starting from the end of 2025. It will establish a co-operation mechanism with another CMH in the Mainland to support its continuing development.