Registration of Chinese Medicine Practitioners (2)

Dear Ms. Pamela LAM, Principal Assistant Secretary (Health) 1
Health, Welfare and Food Bureau

I have tried to contact you for several times for meeting last week for discussing with you for the captioned subject in person but all are in vain.

1. Concerning the issue of protection of the public's health:

May I reiterate that my wife has a Nation-wide Practising License which allows her to practise where-ever in China giving direct consultation to a maximum of 1.3 billion patients while your registered practitioners may only have a maximum of 7 million patients in Hong Kong.

Then what is your reasonale behind for advocating that the protection of the public£ªs health is one of the reasons that prevents my wife from practising here in Hong Kong?

Are the people in China not the same people in humand kind and not in your definition of people in Hong Kong?

Are the lives of the people in China so unimportant than that of those in Hong Kong?

Does the Ministry of Health in China issue practising licenses to unqualifiy persons, without assessing their academic and professional knowledge and experience?

2. Academic Degree

My wife started the chinese medicine career by studying full time 3-year of Nurse Course in Sep 1988 - Jun 1991 and proceeding to part-time Specialist Course in Aug 1995 - Apr1999 and finally to the part-time Degree course in Apr. 1999-Jun 2003, making it up of a total of 3-year full time and 8-year of part-time to get the degree.

Thereafter, my wife has got a chinese medicine degree through the PRC nation-wide unified examination from Changchun University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the academic of qualfication of which is both recognised by our government and Chinese Medicine Council HK, CMCHK.

In satisfying the graduation requirements of getting the chinese medicine degree, my wife had taken the a total of twenty two courses / subjects, which are two folds more than that required by CMCHK. Furthermore, my wife also was sent to a hospital for apprentice practising for sixteen months that was also double in time span than the CMCHK's requirement under its Candidate Handbook

3. CEPA

They are you and the Chinese Medicine Council HK who are not willing to implement the mutual recognition of professional qualification for the industry of Chinese Medicine. We, the outsiders, do not know why.

Please be informed that Hong Kong is an Open Society where there is no fear of Competition which ultimately results the marginal advantage(s) to Hong Kong Citizens.

To make it a success, it is simply to include the practising qualification in the Chinese Medicine Ordinance as one of the conditions in the entrance of the industry of Chinese Medicine, isn't it ?

That does not affect the skewed policy of Chinese Medicine Council HK.

4. Legislations

Please be informed that the official qualification of the degree my wife has obtained, at the back of which, (reverse side) has clear words stipulating that the part-time degrees after graduating from the Whole Nation-wide Unified Examination, have the same status, in terms of job nature and remuneration as that of the full-time graduates which is endorced by the Acts made by Whole Nation Representatives of People Republic of China and the Higher Education Act of PRC.

In addtion, more than ten independent Legislative Councillors with whom
we do not have any relationship, also present their written opinions
after understanding my wife's academic and professional background in the
area of Chinese Medicine, to theChinese Medicine Council HK that my wife should be given a
chance to siiting for the Practitioners Examination in 2006 during the final appeal on 20th April 2006.

If, by now, I may rally more than thirty independent Legislative Councillors in favour of the above, what would you say? Still indifferent as before?

If you were to respect the legistations both in Hong Kong and China, then why do you still saying that do not have plans to amend the Ordinance.

For a professional body to assess the academic qualification for a candidate for registration purposes, she ususally asks if the academic degree is recognised in the related profession in the country the qualification obtained. if it is affirmative, then it is recognised as the equivalent standard. This practice is universally carried out when assessing the applicants who registrate as a member of a professional body.

Problem(s) is/are existing here in the skewed policy of Chinese Medicine Council HK. You being an Policy Bureau, is responsible for rectifying skewed position of the entrance of the industry of Chinese Medicine.

Please do so immediately.