(Question from East and West) Jia Baoheng: Is there any "acclimatization" of traditional Chinese medicine in Canada?
China News Agency, Toronto, May 4th, Question: Is there any "acclimatization" of traditional Chinese medicine in Canada?
——Interview with Canadian Chinese writer Jia Baoheng
China News Agency reporter Yu Ruidong
It has a history of more than a century and a half for Chinese medicine to enter Canada, the land of North America, with the Chinese ancestors.
Through the unremitting efforts and struggles of generations of TCM practitioners and the Chinese community, TCM has taken root and developed locally, and has gained hard-won social recognition.
As representatives of traditional Chinese culture, traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture have also become rare components in the multicultural "jigsaw" of Canada.
However, the development of the Chinese medicine industry in Canada has not been smooth sailing and still faces many challenges.
Jia Baoheng, a researcher on the history of Chinese immigration in Canada and a Chinese writer who now lives in Vancouver, recently accepted an exclusive interview with China News Agency "Dongxi Wen", "taking the pulse" for the development of the Chinese medicine industry in Canada.
Excerpts from the interview are as follows:
China News Agency reporter: What is the main context for Chinese medicine to enter Canada and develop so far?
Jia Baoheng:
Chinese medicine was brought to Canada as early as when Chinese workers came to Canada to dig for gold and participate in the construction of the Pacific Railway.
According to the records of the Royal Commission Investigation Report of Canada in 1885, there are more than 40 Chinese doctors in British Columbia (also translated as British Columbia), and they should be Chinese medicine practitioners.
According to the catalogue of Victoria, British Columbia in 1885, 4 of the businesses engaged in by Chinese in the city were Chinese medicine stores.
After the establishment of the Victoria Chinese Association in 1884, a new "Tai Ping Fang" was built to take care of the elderly or sick Chinese, and later the Chinese Hospital was established.
When Vancouver's Chinatown emerged, the Chinese Hospital was also established by the Chinese Association.
At that time, Li Mengjiu, an outstanding Chinese in Victoria, also specially reprinted and published the book "New Edition of Prescriptions", which recorded traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions.
The early Chinese newspaper "Da Han Gong Pao" also published many advertisements for Chinese medicine shops or Chinese medicine practitioners.
It can also be found in the minutes of the meeting of the New Westminster Chinese Association in 1925 that the New Westminster Chinese Hospital required to keep the hospital clean and hygienic, and to serve patients without impatience.
In 1967, the Canadian government revised the immigration law and implemented the policy of equality of all ethnic groups. More and more Chinese came from all over the world.
Chinese pharmacies and Chinese medicine practitioners have also expanded to various places where the Chinese live.
Through word of mouth, the influence of some TCM practitioners has gradually expanded to other ethnic groups.
However, because the legislation of traditional Chinese medicine has not been implemented, many doctors practice private medicine.
Later, the Chinese began to strive for the realization of the legislative supervision of traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture, and there were traditional Chinese medicine groups in British Columbia, Ontario and other provinces that appealed and lobbied for this.
A Chinese medicine clinic in Toronto, Canada.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Yu Ruidong
Canada is a federal country and has not yet formed a national legislative and regulatory system for traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture.
In chronological order, there are currently five Canadian provinces of Alberta, Quebec, British Columbia, Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador that have achieved legislative regulation of acupuncture.
In 2008, the five provinces established the Canadian Association 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 acupuncture practitioners in the five provinces, and the provinces recognize each other's qualifications for registered acupuncturists.
Outside these five provinces, Chinese medicine associations have been formed in various places.
The provinces that have implemented holistic TCM legislation are British Columbia and Ontario.
British Columbia established the Acupuncture Administration in Vancouver in 1996, and later formed the Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture Administration.
British Columbia is also the only province in Canada that currently grants the title of "doctor" to traditional Chinese medicine practitioners.
Ontario implemented TCM legislation in 2006 and established the TCM and Acupuncturists Administration in 2013.
There have been many twists and turns behind this.
Thanks to the efforts of the Chinese, several cities in British Columbia have also set up "Traditional Chinese Medicine Acupuncture Day".
At present, Canadian TCM practitioners 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.
Doctor prepares to do acupuncture treatment for patient.
Photo by Lu Bo'an issued by China News Agency
China News Agency reporter: What is the significance of promoting the legislation of traditional Chinese medicine? Why does it have to be done, and what are the difficulties?
Jia Baoheng:
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 the TCM legislation can TCM gain the trust of the mainstream society, including the trust of the government, insurance companies and patients.
This is very important for the development of the Chinese medicine industry.
One of the difficulties in the legislation of traditional Chinese medicine is that the opinions within the industry are not unified, and there is even a dispute over the portal.
This difference has also led to the failure of some provinces to legislate traditional Chinese medicine, which has affected 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; however, many people believe that in the process of practicing medicine in accordance with Canadian laws and regulations, TCM can better integrate into the local society.
From the perspective of the external environment, the Chinese medicine industry faces a language threshold.
In the process of legislation of traditional Chinese medicine, some provinces have adopted the "grandfathers bill" to protect traditional Chinese medicine practitioners who are accustomed to family or master, but English or French are not dominant.
But the government's language requirements for this industry may become stricter in the future, that is, the use of two official languages, English and French.
There is currently no translation of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia in Canada, so the Chinese Pharmacopoeia is not officially recognized.
This is actually a very important question.
Some cultural barriers also need to be eliminated.
Traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes conditioning, and the effect is sometimes not immediate.
The West is also not familiar with Chinese herbal medicines.
For example, in the late 1980s, the Canadian official once believed that the Chinese herbal medicine Angelica sinensis was poisonous and issued a ban on the sale. In the end, it was solved by the Chinese people's hard lobbying.
China News Service: How does Canada currently regulate Chinese herbal medicines?
Jia Baoheng:
In Canada, the regulation of traditional Chinese medicine is the responsibility of the federal government.
Generally speaking, Chinese herbal medicines are imported as food, and the regulation is relatively simple, but the promotion of medicinal materials will be restricted.
Proprietary Chinese medicines are more complex and are regulated by the Food and Drug Law.
Traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions often contain a variety of medicinal materials. When they are declared as medicines, each medicine is subject to corresponding regulations according to regulations, so the cost of declaration is high and registration is difficult.
Pedestrians pass by the Toronto branch of a well-known Chinese medicine store in Canada.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Yu Ruidong
When a Chinese businessman imported Chinese herbal medicines, he was affected by the names of the medicines. Bear bile and musk musk were considered to be protected animals by Canada, so they were banned from importing them. The person explained to the Canadian side.
The Chinese have also done a lot of lobbying work on the regulation of Chinese medicine.
In 2004, the Canadian federal government promulgated the "Natural Health Products Regulations", and traditional Chinese medicines were included in the supervision of natural health products.
However, natural health products, including proprietary Chinese medicines, were not licensed in accordance with regulations until the end of 2009, and their product labels will have an 8-digit natural health product number or natural medicine number to assist in tracing.
In addition, Canada also has strict regulations on issues such as pesticide residues.
Import of traditional Chinese medicines must meet relevant standards.
A dry goods medicine store in Toronto, Canada.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Yu Ruidong
China News Service reporter: Another important factor in the development of the Chinese medicine industry is talents. What is the current status of the cultivation of TCM talents in Canada?
Jia Baoheng:
Generally speaking, most TCM schools in Canada are run privately.
Their economic strength is relatively limited, and their venue and scale are also limited.
But as a private school, it is not easy to develop to where it is today.
Because Chinese medicine treatment is an alternative treatment and is not included in the national health insurance system, most public schools in Canada do not have formal degree courses in Chinese medicine and acupuncture.
The good news is that some colleges and universities have appeared formal courses of traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture.
For example, in 1998, McEwan University College in Alberta (renamed McEwan University in 2009) offered a 3-year course of Chinese acupuncture and acupuncture; College diploma; Humber College, which is funded by the Toronto city government, began to recruit Chinese medicine majors in 2016; British Columbia's Quinter Ethics University of Technology has also opened a full-time Chinese medicine and acupuncture specialist course since 2016.
In 2014, the British Columbia Department of Education approved the establishment of the first public school of traditional Chinese medicine in North America by Kwantlen Polytechnic University and Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
The two parties have reached a cooperation form of mutual recognition of credits and academic degree + degree.
Some Chinese TCM practitioners in Canada have been working hard, hoping to enable universities to truly have a bachelor's degree in TCM acupuncture.
Of course, this needs to be done gradually.
A Chinese Medicine Clinic and School of Chinese Medicine in Toronto, Canada.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Yu Ruidong
China News Agency reporter: Is the Chinese medicine industry "unacceptable" in Canada? Looking ahead, what challenges do you see it faces?
Jia Baoheng:
The most pressing challenge is the lack of education.
Introducing TCM and acupuncture education into Canadian universities and establishing disciplines and degrees will be very important to enhance the status of TCM acupuncture and make it more recognized by the mainstream society.
The second is the lack of scientific research.
Some TCM practitioners reported that there are not many papers and other materials on the efficacy of TCM in Canada, so TCM is not recognized by insurance companies to a high degree.
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 practitioner, and other regions should continue to work hard to improve the status of TCM practitioners.
Now the Canadian TCM community has also made a lot of efforts, such as organizing 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 non-governmental exchanges, should also be promoted as much as possible.
At the same time, it is also necessary to introduce immigrant talents in the field of traditional Chinese medicine from Asia, and focus on cultivating local professionals.
Since the development of the Chinese medicine industry in Canada, there are many stories of successful models.
To avoid "acclimatization", the Chinese medicine community and even the overseas Chinese community need to be more united and win greater development in the future.
(Finish)
Interviewee Profile:
Jia Baoheng, a researcher on the history of Chinese immigration in Canada, a Chinese writer, is currently a part-time researcher at the Canadian Research Center of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies and a consultant 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.
"History of Overseas Chinese Immigration in Canada 1858-1966" (2013 edition of People's Publishing House), co-authored with Li Quan'en and Ding Guo, won the "Top Ten Academic Works Award of the Year" by People's Publishing House.
Since 2018, he has written an annual Canadian immigration policy paper, which is included in the annual Canadian Blue Book, edited by the Canadian Studies Center of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies and published by Social Sciences Literature Publishing House.
Author of novels "Hongzhi Emperor", "Jiajing Dynasty", "Immigration Dream" and so on.