*********************************************************
The 2014 Hong Kong-Taichung Intercity Forum jointly organised by the Hong Kong Economic, Trade and Cultural Office (Taiwan) (HKETCO) and the Taichung City Government concluded successfully in Taichung today (July 31). The Mayor of Taichung City, Mr Jason Hu, gave the opening address at the forum, which focused on the development of medical services and tourism promotion. It was attended by over 150 government officials, experts and relevant stakeholders from Hong Kong and Taichung City.
The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Gregory So, and the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, separately led delegations to attend the forum. They also spoke at the forum about tourism promotion and the development of Chinese medicine in Hong Kong respectively.
In a keynote speech on tourism promotion during the first part of the forum, Mr So said Hong Kong is a dynamic city filled with traditional Chinese and foreign festivals, fine food and wine, and a variety of rich cultural activities. Behind all the hustle and bustle, Hong Kong also has a rich diversity of natural landscapes and ecological resources. In recent years, the Hong Kong Government and the tourism sector have been committed to developing diversified tourism products, such as the promotion of green and cultural tourism, the showcasing of Hong Kong's unique festivals and local cuisine and the organisation of a wide range of mega events, so as to provide visiting tourists with diverse tourism experiences and a taste of the vibrant city life.
Speaking on the creative marketing strategies of the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB), the HKTB's Executive Director, Mr Anthony Lau, noted that Hong Kong recorded a total of 54.3 million visitor arrivals in 2013, an increase of 11.7 per cent over the 2012 figure. According to a survey in 2013, 41 per cent of overnight vacation visitors from Taiwan had visited Hong Kong more than four times. To keep Hong Kong as the favourite travel destination, Mr Lau said Hong Kong has to use creative thinking to offer new attractions to visitors from time to time, so as to showcase the unique glamour of Hong Kong and enhance their travel experience.
In view of the rapid development of cruise tourism in the Asia-Pacific region, Mr So said that the Hong Kong Government has been active in developing the necessary infrastructure and facilities to seize the opportunities in the Asia-Pacific market, including the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal that came into operation in mid-2013. On Hong Kong-Taiwan co-operation in cruise tourism, Mr So noted that Hong Kong and Taiwan have their own distinctive attractions, and said that the two places could team up to become an attractive route for cruise travel. Mr Lau added that in addition to signing a co-operation framework agreement on cruise tourism in June last year, Hong Kong and Taiwan jointly launched the Asia Cruise Fund in March this year to strengthen co-operation with neighbouring ports and create synergies to promote the sustainable development of cruise tourism.
In a keynote address during the second part of the forum, Dr Ko gave an account of the Hong Kong Government's efforts in the promotion of Chinese medicine in Hong Kong. Dr Ko pointed out that there had been rapid development of Chinese medicine in Hong Kong's public health and medical services in the past decade or so. The Government has established an effective regulatory regime for Chinese medicine to safeguard the health of the general public while strengthening consumers' confidence in Chinese medical services, Chinese herbal medicines and proprietary Chinese medicines.
Dr Ko said that Hong Kong has spared no effort in recent years in the training of professionals in Chinese medical education and research. Currently, three universities in Hong Kong offer undergraduate degree courses in Chinese medicine and related graduate courses. In 2013, the Chinese Medicine Development Committee, comprising members from Chinese medicine practitioners, the Chinese medicine trade, academia, research institutes and the health-care and testing and certification sectors as well as lay persons, was set up to advise on the long-term development of Chinese medicine in Hong Kong.
Noting that Hong Kong and Taiwan share many similarities in the economy and culture, Dr Ko said that the two places could collaborate with each other in Chinese medicine and even general medical services. In fact, Hong Kong and Taiwan have been working closely in the field of medical services, especially in Chinese medicine, and the collaboration with Taichung's China Medical University to develop standards for Chinese materia medica under the Hong Kong Chinese Materia Medica Standards (HKCMMS) Project is one of the examples.
Assistant Director of Health Dr Ronald Lam said that the HKCMMS Project, launched in 2002, aims to establish evidence-based safety and quality reference standards for commonly used Chinese materia medica. The Project has reached an important milestone as it has already developed standards for about 200 Chinese materia medica as of today. The HKCMMS Project is under the leadership and supervision of the International Advisory Board (IAB), which comprises internationally renowned experts in traditional medicine, and there is also a Scientific Committee set up under the IAB to monitor the progress of research work. As such, the standards that are developed are internationally recognised.
Speaking at the close of the forum, the HKETCO Director, Mr John Leung, gave his heartfelt thanks to the Taichung City Government for their dedicated support for the event. He said that the Hong Kong-Taipei Intercity Forum co-organised with the Taipei City Government in June 2013 was highly successful. Building on last year's experience, this year's forum in Taichung had opened up a new platform for in-depth exchanges between Hong Kong and Taichung. In his view, the two cities could learn from each other's experience and had huge room for co-operation in tourism promotion and the development of medical services. He also expressed the hope that the exchange platform could continue to grow and be extended to other places in Taiwan.
Also speaking at the close of the forum was Deputy Mayor of Taichung City Mr Tsai Ping-kun. Other Taiwan speakers included the Director-General of the Taichung City Government's Tourism Bureau, Mr Chang Ta-chun; the Director and Superintendent of the Center for International Development of Taiwan's China Medical University Hospital, Mr Hsu Su-ming; and the Vice Superintendent of Tungs' Taichung MetroHarbor Hospital, Mr Tung Jui-lung.
Ends/Thursday, July 31, 2014
Issued at HKT 13:04
NNNN
