Source: China News Network
Chinese medicine has a history of more than a century and a half since it entered Canada with the first Chinese to enter canada. After several generations of TCM practitioners and the unremitting efforts and struggles of the Chinese community, TCM has taken root and developed in the local area, and has gained hard-won social recognition. As a representative of traditional Chinese culture, Chinese medicine and acupuncture have also become a rare part of Canada's multicultural "puzzle". However, the development of the TCM industry in Canada has not been smooth sailing, and it still faces many challenges. Jia Baosuan, a researcher and Chinese writer who currently lives in Vancouver, was recently interviewed by China News Agency's "East and West Question" to "take the pulse" for the development of the Chinese medicine industry in Canada.
An excerpt from the interview is as follows:
China News Service: What is the main vein of Chinese medicine entering Canada and developing so far?
Jia Baosuan:
As early as the period when Chinese workers came to Canada to pan for gold and participated in the construction of the Pacific Railway, Chinese medicine was brought to Canada. According to canada's 1885 Royal Commission Investigation Report, there were more than 40 Chinese doctors in British Columbia, who were supposed to be Chinese medicine practitioners. According to the 1885 catalogue of Victoria City, British Columbia, 4 of the businesses engaged in by Chinese in the city were Chinese medicine stores.
In 1884, after the establishment of the Victoria Chinese Association, a new "Taiping House" was built to take care of the elderly or sick Chinese, and later the Chung Hua Hospital was established. When Vancouver's Chinatown arose, Chung Wah Hospital was also founded by the Chung Hua Association. At that time, Li Mengjiu, an outstanding Chinese in Victoria, also specially re-edited and published the book "New Edition of Testing Prescriptions" that recorded the examination of Chinese medicine prescriptions. The early Chinese newspaper Dahan Gazette also published many advertisements for Traditional Chinese medicine shops or TCM practitioners. In the minutes of the 1925 meeting of the New Westminster Chung Hua Association, it can also be found that the New Westminster Chung Hua Hospital requires that the hospital be kept clean and hygienic, and that the patients should not be impatient.
In 1967, the Canadian government amended the immigration law and implemented a policy of equality among all ethnic groups, and more and more Chinese from all over the world. Chinese medicine pharmacies and Chinese medicine practitioners also expanded to various places where Chinese people lived. Through word-of-mouth, the influence of some TCM physicians has gradually expanded to other ethnic groups.
However, because there is no implementation of TCM legislation, many physicians practice medicine privately. Later, the Chinese began to strive for the legislative supervision of traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture, and there were Chinese medicine groups in British Columbia, Ontario and other provinces to launch appeals and lobbying for this.
A TCM clinic in Toronto, Canada. Photo by Yu Ruidong, a reporter from China News Service
Canada is a federal country, and has not yet formed a national legislative regulatory system for traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture.
Chronologically, there are currently five provinces in Canada, Alberta, Quebec, British Columbia, Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador that have implemented acupuncture legislation. In 2008, the five provinces established the Canadian Federation of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture Authorities with financial support from the federal and provincial governments. Since 2013, with official support, the Alliance has implemented a unified registration examination for traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncturists in five provinces, and the provinces have recognized the qualifications of registered acupuncturists. Outside these five provinces, local Chinese medicine associations have been formed.
The provinces of British Columbia and Ontario have achieved holistic TCM legislation. The British Columbia Acupuncture Authority was established in Vancouver in 1996, which later formed the Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture Administration. British Columbia is also currently the only province in Canada that gives the title of "doctor" to TCM physicians. Ontario implemented TCM legislation in 2006 and established the TCM Physicians and Acupuncturists Authority in 2013. There are many twists and turns behind this.
With the efforts of the Chinese, several cities in B.C. have also set up "TCM Acupuncture Days".
At present, people in the Canadian TCM community are still working hard, hoping to lobby the government to give more support to TCM and acupuncture, such as including medical insurance and entering large general hospitals.
The doctor prepares acupuncture treatment for the patient. Photo by Lu Bo'an, China News Service
China News Service: What is the significance of promoting TCM legislation? Why do it have to be done, and what are the difficulties?
Jia Baosuan:
When TCM legislation was not implemented in the early days, the practice of TCM was not recognized and protected by law, and the qualifications of professional TCM physicians were not recognized. Only by implementing TCM legislation can we reflect the trust of TCM in mainstream society, including the trust of the government, insurance companies and patients. This is very important for the development of the TCM industry.
One of the difficulties in TCM legislation is that there is no uniformity of opinions within the industry, and there is even a dispute over the portal. This disagreement has also led to the failure of TCM legislation in some provinces so far, affecting the development of the industry. Among TCM practitioners, some people are worried that TCM and acupuncture will be included in the regulatory system of Western medicine, but many people believe that TCM can be better integrated into the local society in the process of practicing medicine in accordance with Canadian laws and regulations.
From the perspective of the external environment, the TCM industry faces a language threshold. In the process of TCM legislation, some provinces have adopted the "Ancestral Law" to protect TCM practitioners who are accustomed to family or teacher transmission, but English or French are not dominant. But the government may tighten language requirements for the industry in the future, which means that the two official languages of English and French are used. There is currently no translation of the Chinese Chinese Medicine Code in Canada, so the Chinese Medicine Code is not officially recognized now. This is actually a very important question.
Some cultural barriers also need to be bridged. TCM reconditioning, the effect is sometimes not immediate. The West is also not familiar with Chinese herbal medicine. For example, in the late 1980s, Canadian officials believed that Chinese herbal medicine angelica contained poison and issued a ban on sales, but in the end it was only solved by the chinese people's hard persuasion.
China News Service: How does Canada currently regulate Chinese herbal medicines?
Jia Baosuan:
In Canada, the regulation of Chinese medicines is the responsibility of the federal government.
Generally speaking, Chinese herbal medicine is imported according to food, and the regulation is relatively simple, but the medicinal herbs will be restricted in the process of publicity.
Proprietary Chinese medicine is more complicated and is regulated by the Food and Drug Law. Chinese medicine prescriptions often contain a variety of medicinal materials, and when they declare to become drugs, each medicine is regulated according to regulations, so the declaration cost is very high and the registration is more difficult.
Pedestrians pass in front of a well-known Chinese medicine store in Toronto, Canada. Photo by Yu Ruidong, a reporter from China News Service
When a Chinese businessman imported Chinese herbal medicines, he was affected by the name of the medicine, and the bear bile and the wool musk were considered by the Canadian side to be protected animals, so the import was prohibited, so he had to ask someone to translate the materials in Hong Kong, and then explain it to the Canadian side in conjunction with lawyers and professionals.
The Chinese have also made an effort to lobby for the regulation of Chinese medicine. In 2004, the Canadian federal government issued the Natural Health Products Regulations, and Chinese medicines were included in the category of natural health products. However, natural health products, including proprietary Chinese medicines, were not licensed under the regulations until the end of 2009, and there will be an 8-digit natural health product number or natural medicine number on their product labels to facilitate tracing.
In addition, Canada also has strict regulations on pesticide residues and other issues. The import of Chinese medicines must meet the relevant standards.
A dry medicine shop in Toronto, Canada. Photo by Yu Ruidong, a reporter from China News Service
China News Service: Another important factor in the development of the TCM industry is talent. What is the current status of training TCM talents in Canada?
Jia Baosuan:
At present, in general, most of the Chinese medicine schools in Canada are privately run. Their economic strength is relatively limited, and their venues, scale, etc. are also limited. But as a private school, it is not easy to develop to today's point.
Because TCM treatment is an alternative treatment and is not included in the national health insurance system, most public schools in Canada do not have a formal TCM acupuncture degree program. Fortunately, some colleges and universities have already seen the emergence of formal TCM acupuncture courses. For example, in 1998, McVin University College in Alberta (renamed McVin University in 2009) offered a three-year specialization in TCM acupuncture; in 2016, Georgia College of Ontario opened a TCM acupuncture program, which provides graduates with a higher diploma; Humber College, funded by the City of Toronto, began enrolling in TCM in 2016; and QuintelanTech University of Technology in B.C. also offered a full-time TCM acupuncture specialist program since 2016.
In 2014, the BC Department of Education approved the establishment of the first public TCM school in North America in partnership between Quintelen University of Technology and Beijing University of Chinese Medicine. The two sides reached a form of cooperation in mutual recognition of credits and academic qualifications + degrees.
Some Chinese TCM physicians in Canada have been working hard to achieve a bachelor's degree in TCM acupuncture that would allow universities to truly have. Of course, this needs to be done step by step.
A TCM clinic and TCM school in Toronto, Canada. Photo by Yu Ruidong, a reporter from China News Service
China News Service: Is the TCM industry "unsatisfactory" in Canada? Looking ahead, what challenges do you see it facing?
Jia Baosuan:
The most pressing challenge is inadequate education. Introducing TCM acupuncture education into Canadian universities, setting up disciplines and degrees, which will be very important for the promotion of the status of TCM acupuncture, so that it can gain higher recognition from the mainstream society.
The second is the lack of scientific research. Some Chinese medicine practitioners have reported that there are not many papers on the efficacy of Chinese medicine in Canada, so the degree of recognition of Chinese medicine by insurance companies is not high. Being recognized by medical insurance companies will greatly promote the development of traditional Chinese medicine. Such papers and other materials need to be written in English, so that the mainstream society can see more of the contribution of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
In addition, only British Columbia currently recognizes the title of TCM physician, and other regions should continue to work hard to improve the status of TCM physicians. At present, the Canadian TCM community has also made a lot of efforts, such as holding academic and training activities, lobbying the government through different channels, and telling the mainstream society about the legitimacy and importance of TCM acupuncture. Academic exchanges, especially people-to-people exchanges, should also be promoted as much as possible. At the same time, it is also necessary to import immigrant talents in the field of traditional Chinese medicine from Asia and pay attention to cultivating local professionals.
The Development of the Canadian TCM Industry so far, there is no shortage of success stories. To avoid "water and soil dissatisfaction", the Chinese medicine community and even the overseas Chinese community need to be more united in the future and win greater development. (End)
Respondent Profiles:
Jia Baoyu is a researcher and Chinese writer on the history of Chinese immigration in Canada, a part-time researcher at the Canadian Research Center of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, and an advisor to the Canadian Overseas Chinese Cultural Protection and Development Association. He graduated from Beijing Technology and Business University (formerly Beijing Institute of Light Industry) in 1987 and immigrated to Canada in 1999. Co-authored with Li Quan'en and Ding Guo, "The History of Overseas Chinese Immigration in Canada from 1858 to 1966" (People's Publishing House, 2013 edition) won the "Annual Top Ten Academic Works Award" of the People's Publishing House. Since 2018, he has written the annual Canadian Immigration Policy Paper, which is included in the annual Canadian Blue Book edited by the Canadian Research Center of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies and published by Social Science Literature Press. He is the author of novels such as "Hongzhi Emperor", "Jiajing Dynasty", "Immigrant Dream" and so on.