The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is committed to providing a favorable environment for entrepreneurial development in the traditional Chinese medicine field, SAR Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa said.

At the Donation Ceremony for the Hong Kong Jockey Club Institute of Chinese Medicine, Tung noted that "Hong Kong is benefited from its unique position and long-standing cooperation with the Chinese mainland."

"These advantages, together with the well-established existing brand names and products of Chinese medicine in the field, will enable Hong Kong to develop traditional Chinese medicine into commercialized modern products through the application of innovation and technology and enjoy a share in the world market of medicine." Tung said.

To provide a favorable environment for entrepreneurial development in this area, the government has enacted the Chinese Medicine Ordinance and will proceed with the registration of Chinese medical practitioners and Chinese medicine by stages, Tung said.

The government also give support to researches in the Chinese medicine field by injecting several hundred million Hong Kong dollars for the funding of a series of research programs on Chinese medicine, he added.

To further consolidate the foundation of research on Chinese medicine, Tung said, the government has decided to set up an Institute of Chinese Medicine under the Applied Science and Technology Institute, which is to be built shortly.

　　(From Cjhina INformation Center)