HKU School of Chinese Medicine — The \"Integrative Chinese-Western Medicine\" Programme That Began in 1998

The University of Hong Kong (HKU) Comprehensive Information Database · 01 Academic Module
This article traces the development and positioning of the HKU School of Chinese Medicine (HKUSCM). Set within a university whose medical tradition is rooted in Western medicine, the School stands as a dedicated centre for Chinese medicine teaching and research. For an overview of faculties and schools, see faculties.md; for the institutional home of the School of Public Health and the School of Chinese Medicine, see ../11-medical-hospital/school-of-public-health-and-chinese-medicine.md; for the history of Western medical education at HKU, see ../11-medical-hospital/li-ka-shing-faculty-of-medicine.md. The 00–12 Reference Section of this archive records names as they stand.

# 1. Why Would a University Rooted in Western Medicine Establish a Chinese Medicine School?

The HKU Faculty of Medicine traces its lineage to the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, founded in 1887, and is the origin point of Western medical education in Hong Kong (see ../11-medical-hospital/li-ka-shing-faculty-of-medicine.md). The decision to establish a Chinese medicine school within a university so deeply "Western medicine" in character is itself noteworthy.

• According to the School's official introduction^※, the School was established in early 1998. Its initial offerings were part-time certificate, diploma, and undergraduate programmes, with a mandate to promote interdisciplinary research in Chinese medicine.
• This timing (1998) coincided with the period immediately following Hong Kong's handover, when local tertiary institutions were systematically incorporating Chinese medicine into the formal higher education system. The Chinese medicine schools at HKU, Hong Kong Baptist University, and The Chinese University of Hong Kong all took shape around the same time, together becoming the pioneers of Chinese medicine higher education in Hong Kong (as collated by Wikipedia^※).

# 2. Restructuring and Teaching Philosophy (from 2002)

• According to the School's official introduction^※, the School was restructured in 2002, when it was also provided with a dedicated teaching building on campus, marking a shift from part-time beginnings towards systematic, full-time degree-level education.
• Its official introduction^※ identifies its defining teaching characteristic as a strong emphasis on clinical practice in Chinese medicine, combined with the latest training in biomedical sciences.
• According to its official introduction^※ and its undergraduate programme page^※, the School offers undergraduate, taught postgraduate, and research postgraduate programmes, all designed to produce professional practitioners of Integrative Chinese-Western Medicine equipped with competence in Chinese medicine, modern life sciences, and clinical medical practice.

Context: "Integrative Chinese-Western Medicine" is the key positioning that distinguishes the HKU School of Chinese Medicine from programmes teaching traditional Chinese medicine in isolation. It does not frame Chinese and Western medicine as opposing systems; instead, it requires students to achieve mastery in both bodies of knowledge. This approach echoes, in spirit, the HKU emblem's depiction of a dragon and a lion standing together, East and West in dialogue (see ../00-overview/symbols.md).

# 3. Its Place in Hong Kong's Chinese Medicine Higher Education Landscape

• As collated by Wikipedia^※, higher education in Chinese medicine in Hong Kong was pioneered around 1998 by HKU, Baptist University, CUHK, and others; the HKU School of Chinese Medicine was one of these pioneers.
• The regulation of Chinese medicine practice in Hong Kong — including registration and licensing examinations — is the responsibility of the relevant statutory body. A degree from the HKU School of Chinese Medicine constitutes one pathway within Hong Kong's Chinese medicine professional education system (readers should refer to the relevant statutory body's regulations for the specific requirements linking a degree to professional licensure).

The School's 1998 launch fell squarely within the legislative timeline that saw the institutionalisation of Chinese medicine regulation in Hong Kong. According to the legislative history collated in the Wikipedia entry for the Chinese Medicine Council of Hong Kong^※, an incident involving Chinese herbal medicine in 1985 prompted the colonial government to form the "Working Party on Chinese Medicine" in 1989, followed by the "Preparatory Committee on Chinese Medicine" in 1995. In July 1999, the Legislative Council passed the Chinese Medicine Ordinance (Cap. 549 of the Laws of Hong Kong), and in September of that year the Chinese Medicine Council of Hong Kong and its subordinate Chinese Medicine Practitioners Board and Chinese Medicines Board were formally established. In June 2000, LegCo passed subsidiary legislation concerning the registration and discipline of Chinese medicine practitioners. By the end of 2001, the first gazette list of 7,707 listed Chinese medicine practitioners was published. From March 2002, the provisions of the Ordinance concerning illegal practice took full effect — making it an offence for anyone not a listed or registered Chinese medicine practitioner to practise. The HKU School of Chinese Medicine thus took shape (established 1998, restructured 2002) precisely within the window when this entire regulatory framework moved from planning to implementation. Its curriculum design and its "Integrative Chinese-Western Medicine" positioning can, in some measure, be read as a response to the broader societal demand in Hong Kong during this period for the professionalisation and standardisation of Chinese medicine.

# 4. Clinical Teaching: A Chinese Medicine Clinic Next Door to Queen Mary Hospital

The HKU School of Chinese Medicine is far more than a classroom-based teaching unit; it operates a full clinical service ecosystem. According to the School's official "Clinical Centres" introduction^※, it runs several Clinical Centres for Teaching and Research, two of which are directly operated by the School, while another six are established in partnership with the Hospital Authority and non-governmental organisations. Spread across various locations including Central on Hong Kong Island, they offer general and specialist outpatient services in internal medicine, acupuncture, traumatology, and more.

According to a 2023 HKUMed press release^※, the School's clinical teaching centre has relocated to the HKUMed Academic Building on Sassoon Road in Pokfulam. It now stands barely a footbridge away from HKUMed's main teaching hospital — Queen Mary Hospital — with patients able to pass directly between the two sites via a barrier-free link bridge. The spatial arrangement is a statement in itself: a Chinese medicine outpatient clinic and a Western medicine teaching hospital sited next to each other, physically connected by a bridge. This embodies the University's "Integrative Chinese-Western Medicine" philosophy not merely in the curriculum, but in the physical design of its clinical services — creating logistical conditions that enable straightforward referrals and collaboration between Chinese medicine practitioners and Western medical teams.

# Unverified / To Be Confirmed

• First-year intake numbers and full programme listings: The official introduction records the 1998 start and the 2002 restructuring; year-by-year student intake figures and detailed programme evolution require consultation of the School's annual reports.
• The specific name and commissioning year of the "dedicated teaching building": The official record states a dedicated building was provided in 2002; the specific name and location need to be checked against the School's official page. The clinical teaching centre has, since 2023, moved to the HKUMed Academic Building.
• The bridge from the degree to Chinese medicine practising qualification: This article provides a general overview; for specific registration and examination requirements, refer to the regulations of the Chinese Medicine Council of Hong Kong and other relevant statutory bodies. An HKU degree does not, in itself, automatically confer eligibility for registration as a Chinese medicine practitioner.