SAR ‘well positioned for world’s TCM accolade’
Whenever foreign customers want to buy top traditional Chinese medicine (TCM ) or try TCM treatment, they think about Hong Kong.”
T he Hong Kong government should use the city ’s reputable quality control system to transform it into the world’s top traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) center, said Stanley Ng Chau-pei, a National People’s Congress deputy from Hong Kong and trade union leader.
The industr y could be a new engine for Hong Kong’s economy and help the Chinese mainland bring its traditional treasures to the global market, said Ng, chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (FTU).
A traditional medicine center would be a perfect development for the Lok Ma Chau Loop innovation and technology park on the Hong Kong-Shenzhen boundary, he said.
T h e m a i n l a n d ’s T C M industry generated $80 billion last year, according to t h e Wo r l d Fe d e r a t i o n o f Chinese Medicine Societies. The amount has increased 30-fold over the past 20 years. The global TCM market was worth $173 billion last year, the federation estimated.
In recent years, increases in Western medicine prices have inflated many countries’ welfare spending, and TCM could gain a greater share of this market, Ng said.
“By combining Hong K o n g ’s w o r l d - r e n o w n e d quality control system and mainland professionals and medicinal materials, the TCM industr y can become standardized and give people confidence,” Ng said.
He b e l i e v e d c o n f i d e n c e m a tt e r s t h e m o s t f o r t h e medicine industr y. He cited the F TU’s 10 TCM clinics as an example. “Though we charge more than many other TCM clinics in town, c ustomers still come to us because we put a lot of effort into quality control.”
He foresaw the TCM business as a new engine for Hong Kong’s economy that could create considerable employment.
As global demand continued to rise, Ng hoped Hong Kong could stand out as the world’s TCM center. “Whenever foreign customers want to buy TCM or try TCM treatment, they think about Hong Kong,” Ng said, envisioning the city’s future.
This also facilitated the mainland’s “go out ” polic y for enterprises, Ng said.