Chinese Medicine Development Fund Launching Ceremony - Facilitate the Development of Chinese Medicine Sector and Chinese Medicine Drug Industry

(Hong Kong, 25 June 2019) The Chinese Medicine Development Fund (the Fund) Launching Ceremony was held at Inno Space, Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) Building today, heralding a new chapter in the development of Chinese medicine sector and Chinese medicine drug industry.

The ceremony was officiated by Professor Sophia Chan, Secretary for Food and Health, together with Mr Douglas So, Chairperson of The Advisory Committee on the Fund; Dr Constance Chan, Director of Health; Miss Grace Kwok, Head (Chinese Medicine Unit) of Food and Health Bureau and Dr Lawrence Cheung, Acting Executive Director of HKPC. Representatives from Chinese medicine sector, Chinese medicine drug industry, testing and certification service providers, healthcare industry, as well as experts, academics and other guests attended the ceremony as witnesses.

Speaking at the ceremony, Professor Sophia Chan, said, “The HKSAR Government announced the establishment of the $500 million dedicated fund in the Policy Address last year to further promote and boost the development of the Chinese medicine. The Fund, consisting of various subsidy programmes, benefits the stakeholders at different levels of the entire Chinese medicine practitioners and Chinese medicine drug sectors in a bid to foster overall development of the trade. The Government hopes that the Chinese Medicine Development Fund would facilitate development of the local Chinese medicine industry in multiple aspects including nurturing talents in Chinese medicine, encouraging research on Chinese medicine, enhancing public knowledge about Chinese medicine and creating favourable conditions for promoting Chinese medicine to other places.”

Mr Douglas So said, “The 5 colours match with Wu Xing (also known as the Five Elements), including white, cyan, black, red and yellow are chosen to make up the Fund logo; while an acupuncture needle has been placed between Chinese and English name of the Fund. Both parts symbolise the culture of Chinese medicine and Chinese medicine drug, which make the core theme of the Fund to stand out. The Advisory Committee on Chinese Medicine Development Fund will provide recommendation to the Government on matters relating to the overall administration and operation of the Fund, and also assist in driving related work so as to ensure proper functioning of the Fund. Besides, the Committee members will work closely with the Government, the Chinese medicine practitioners, the Chinese medicine drug sector and relevant stakeholders to gauge market views, and thus to ensure the Fund can effectively serve its purpose to promote the development of Chinese medicine appropriately, cater to the need of the industry and meet public expectations.”

Dr Lawrence Cheung introduced the Fund at the event, “Over the years, HKPC has strived to provide various supporting services for facilitating the development of Chinese medicine sector and Chinese medicine drug industry. To work in coordination with the Fund, HKPC also sets up a Chinese Medicine Resources Platform to consolidate reference materials of Chinese medicine and Chinese medicine drugs. It provides free access of practical information and consultation service related to Chinese medicine and Chinese medicine drugs to registered users. By utilising the Fund, it is hoped that the Chinese medicine and drug industry, the academic and research community, and stakeholders of the society can work together with the Government for facilitating the industry’s development continuously, which aims to promote traditional Chinese medicine and Chinese medicine drug to the rest of the world.”
The Fund comprises of two parts, namely the Industry Support Programme (ISP) and the Enterprise Support Programme (ESP).

The ISP is trade-specific in nature and has been sub-divided into two projects, which are now open for application, including:

• Chinese Medicine Industry Training Funding Scheme & Chinese Medicine Promotion Funding Scheme (B1) covers different types of activities, for example, training courses, workshops, seminars, moving showcase, exhibitions, promotional activities and production of video clips, etc.
• Chinese Medicine Applied Studies and Research Funding Scheme (B2) covers different types of research, for example, Chinese medicine technology applied studies, industry market research etc.

For the ESP, it offers matching fund to practitioners and institutions to facilitate the development of Chinese medicine industry in Hong Kong. Further details will be announced later. The programme is sub-divided into four projects, including:

• Chinese Medicine Individual Training and Chinese Medicine Clinics Improvement Funding Scheme (A1)
• Proprietary Chinese Medicine Quality and Manufacturing System enhancement Funding Scheme (A2)
• Proprietary Chinese Medicine Registration Supporting Scheme (A3)
• Chinese Medicine Warehouse Management and Logistics Improvement Funding Scheme (A4)

The main purpose of the Fund is to promote the development of the Chinese medicine and Chinese medicine drug sectors, enhance the overall standard of the industry, nurture talents for the Chinese medicine hospital, support Chinese medicine-related research, strengthen the development of Chinese medicine specialisation, and enhance public knowledge and understanding of Chinese medicine. HKPC serves as the implementation partner to manage and supervise the operation of the Fund. HKPC also serves as secretariat of the Chinese Medicine Development Fund Advisory Committee, which is responsible for organising various kinds of briefing and sharing events. Moreover, HKPC will also provide consultation and support to applicants.

For more details of the Fund, please visit https://www.cmdevfund.hk; for the Chinese Medicine Resources Platform, please visit https://www.cmresource.hk.

- Ends -

The ceremony was officiated by Professor Sophia Chan, Secretary for Food and Health (centre), together with Mr Douglas So, Chairperson of The Advisory Committee on the Fund (2nd from left); Dr Constance Chan, Director of Health (1st from right); Miss Grace Kwok, Head (Chinese Medicine Unit) of Food and Health Bureau (1st from left) and Dr Lawrence Cheung, Acting Executive Director of HKPC (2nd from right).

Professor Sophia Chan, Secretary for Food and Health (front row, 5th from right), together with Mr Douglas So, Chairperson of The Advisory Committee on the Fund (front row, 5th from left); Dr Constance Chan, Director of Health (front row, 3rd from right); Miss Grace Kwok, Head (Chinese Medicine Unit) of Food and Health Bureau (front row, 4th from left) and Dr Lawrence Cheung, Acting Executive Director of HKPC (front row, 4th from right), posed for a photo with representatives from Chinese medicine sector, Chinese medicine drug industry, testing and certification service providers, and healthcare industry, as well as experts, academics and other guests at Chinese Medicine Development Fund Launching Ceremony held at HKPC Building today.

Professor Sophia Chan, Secretary for Food and Health, highlighted at the ceremony that the Chinese Medicine Development Fund would facilitate the development of the local Chinese medicine industry in multiple aspects including nurturing talents in Chinese medicine, encouraging research on Chinese medicine, enhancing public knowledge about Chinese medicine and creating favourable conditions for promoting Chinese medicine to other places.