Third Bernard H. K. Luk Memorial Lecture in Hong Kong Studies

Vivian Taam Wong, Honourary Professor, School of Chinese Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong will present the Third Bernard H. K. Luk Memorial Lecture in Hong Kong Studies. She will speak on ‘Integrative Medicine from China to the World.’
The introduction of western medicine through missionaries into China disturbed the modus operandi of a paternalistic society where the balance of yin and yang supported practices with heart and wisdom. The monolithic drive for modern scientific evidence stifled Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) which waxed and waned through the last century.
The dawn of Integrative Medicine 60 years ago was through a call by Chairman Mao to invite the best western medicine doctors to study CM. The problems in recognition of CM and obstacles to integration were overcome by steadfast research in bio-medical sciences, post-genomics, network pharmacology, and state-of-the-art imaging technology.
With production of books in local languages, formalization of education, examination and licence to practice, integrative medicine began to take shape on all continents. International communication and collaboration has been fostered by the World Federation of CM, Consortium for Globalization of CM and Good Practice TCM Research Association.
The Royal Botanic Garden’s archive of Chinese herbal materia medica, the NIH research funding via NCCIH, the FDA IND for herbal formulae and the EMA’s changes in European Pharmacopeia set the scene for regulatory harmonization with the Chinese Pharmacopeia. The WHO will introduce the ICD 11 with a chapter on TCM. China will build more than 130 CM facilities along the Belt & Road, within five years, to bring affordable healthcare to developing countries.
Dr Wong, who is an honourary fellow of Hong Kong University and the Open University of Hong Kong. She has served as chief executive of Queen Mary Hospital and, subsequently, the Hospital Authority of Hong Kong. As a public health specialist in policy and research at the World Bank, and consultant to the World Health Organization, she has participated in projects in China covering rural health manpower development, maternal and child health and primary healthcare. She set up the network of Chinese Medicine (CM) Centers for Training and Research in each district in Hong Kong, and has had leadership roles in the Hong Kong Association for Integrative Chinese-western Medicine, the Consortium for Globalization in CM, Modernized CM International Association and the GP TCM Research Association.
All are welcome!
The annual lecture in memory of York University History professor Bernard H. K. Luk is presented by the York Centre for Asian Research and the Richard Charles Lee Hong Kong Library. This year’s lecture and accompanying workshop is generously supported by Mr. K. Y. Ho and Ms. Betty Ho, the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies and Department of History at York University.
The lecture will be preceded by the Synergies between Chinese and Western Medicine in Hong Kong and Beyond: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives workshop. Please RSVP to ycar@yorku.ca by 20 April 2019.
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