Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Mr Tam Chon Weng, meets the press.
The Government would step up effort to provide more protection to residents especially senior citizen who sought traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) treatment, said the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Mr Tam Chon Weng, today. Speaking to reporters after the opening ceremony of the International Forum on Traditional Medicine and the inauguration ceremony of the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Traditional Medicine, Mr Tam said the establishment of the Centre had recognised Macao’s efforts in developing TCM. In today’s opening, Mr Tam, on behalf of the Macao SAR Government, had signed the Supplementary Cooperation Agreement in the Area of Chinese Medicine with the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine. He disclosed this was the second such agreement that covered legislation formulation, TCM regulation and management, and the training of TCM doctors. Among the some four million patients who sought primary health services last year, there were 1.17 million consultations of TCM, which indicated residents’ preference of using TCM, he said. The International Forum on Traditional Medicine is to provide a platform for experts and officials to exchange views on how to further implement the WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy 2014-2023, and to help WHO member states integrating TCM into their healthcare systems. The three-day forum is hosted by the Macao Government with the support from WHO and the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine of China. In addition, Mr Tam condemned the explosion incident in Bangkok, Thailand, and said the Government had not received any request from Macao resident for assistance. The Tourism Crisis Management Office and the Representative Office of the Macao Government Tourist Office in Thailand are closely monitoring the situation.