Launch of the "Silk Road TCM Emissary Initiative"

   The “Sino-European Silk Road Health Industry Cooperation Forum”, which was initiated by the Silk Road Cities Alliance and organized together with numerous domestic and overseas institutions, was successfully held on September 30, 2016 in Kap Europa Frankfurt, Germany. Under the initiative of the host organizer, the Silk Road Cities Alliance, the “Silk Road TCM Emissary Initiative” was officially launched at the forum. Several outstanding foreign students were encouraged to act as TCM emissaries, along with their individual masters, at the apprentice ceremony under the auspices of the Chairman of the Forum, Honorary President of China Maternal and Child Health Association and Former Minister of Health of China.

   This program was initiated by the Silk Road Cities Alliance and launched together with numerous domestic and overseas institutions, including the China National Center for Schooling Development Programme of the Ministry of Education, the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine of the PRC, the China Association of Chinese Medicine, the China Maternal and Child Health Association, the Alliance of Five Leading TCM Universities of China, the Italian Culture Priority Association “Associazione Priorità Cultura”, the Kuipers Health Center of Holland, the Bhumithai Pattana Foundation of Thailand, the TCM Association of Thailand, the Swiss-Chinese Association of Switzerland, the TCM Klinik Bad Kötzting (TCM Clinic of Koetzting, Germany), the Sino European Development Foundation of Austria, the Israel-China Health Exchange Centre of Israel etc. The mission of the initiative is to encourage and support foreigners to learn TCM, become TCM practitioners, and act as emissaries to promote the TCM culture.

   Zhang Wenkang, Chairman of the forum and former Minister of Health of China,Malee Vajrodaya, President of Bhumithai Pattana Foundation of Thailand and Huang Lei, International Exchange and Cooperation Center of China Health Planning Commission, signed on the signature board of the “Silk Road TCM Emissary Initiative”

   Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is the core component of Chinese culture and the shining pearl of human beings in the medical treasury. As China integrates more comprehensively in the international community, the world has increased understanding of TCM, several dozens of countries are allowing and recognizing the use of TCM. More and more young people from foreign countries are coming to China to study TCM and become TCM practitioners. At the same time, a large number of TCM enterprises have obtained abilities to go global and serve the world based on their inheritance and innovation on TCM. Against such a background, the major purpose of the “Silk Road TCM Emissary Initiative” is to effectively promote TCM to the world, in order to receive global understanding and recognition of TCM, and to establish a flawless mechanism of promoting Traditional Chinese Medicine.

   To solve the aforementioned problems, it is planned that the initiators of this initiative will form a Council, establish a Cross-Department Steering Committee on the Chinese side, and to invite the Ministry of Education of China, State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, China Food and Drug Administration among others to join in as members of the Steering Committee of the "Silk Road TCM Emissary Initiative". With the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine as the Chair, the main function will be to provide macro-level guidance, quality assurance and standards formulation from the qualification of practitioners, medical training and crude TCM materials.

The intention is to establish a TCM Culture Emissary Fund, a "TCM Emissary" Entrepreneurship Fund, a "TCM Emissary" Medicine and Crude Materials Bank and other supporting projects. Selecting young and middle-aged foreign people that have a passion for TCM and providing them with systematic training, technical assistance and capital support so that they can become independent TCM practitioners to disseminate the TCM culture and promote the “TCM Emissary Initiative”.

   The “Silk Road TCM Emissary Initiative” immediately attracted global attention and received the support of various Chinese and foreign politicians, guests and elites from all over the world as soon as it was proposed at the Launching Ceremony on the forum. Zhang Wenkang, Chairman of the forum, Italian Counsellor Giuseppe Rao, Chief Representative of the Silk Road Cities Alliance along with Chief Advisor Harvey Dzodin, Klaus Elsner, Chairman of the China-Europe Cooperation Forum of Germany, Malee Vajrodaya, President of Bhumithai Pattana Foundation of Thailand, Huang Lei from the International Exchange and Cooperation Center of China Health Planning Commission, Professor Qian Zhongzhi, Chief Expert of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia Commission, Professor Ye Zuguang, Chief Researcher of the Sciences of China Academy of Chinese Medical, Dr. Kuipers from Holland, etc. participated, witnessed the launch of the “Silk Road TCM Emissary Initiative” and signed on the signing board to express their support.

   Boya Strategy (Shanghai) Group Co. Ltd. and Bhumithai Pattana Foundation of Thailand have both signed the “Silk Road Health Industry Fund Cooperation Framework Agreement” with the Silk Road Cities Alliance.

   An apprentice ceremony of foreign TCM practitioners and their individual masters was officially held at the forum. Four outstanding students from different countries, such as Germany, Holland and France that have a passion for TCM, were officially awarded along with their individual TCM masters and famous physicians, including Zhao Buchang, Dong Hongguang, Liu Zhongyi and Gu Shaofeng, to act as emissaries in promoting the TCM culture in the future. Among them, Christine Masseli from Germany and Arvin Kuipers from Holland, two students from the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, expressed their hopes and dreams to provide better treatment for patients through the combination of traditional natural therapies from Europe and Traditional Chinese Medicine methods. Emilie Masson from France, a very capable osteopath, hopes to stay in China for the future to follow her dream of doing more in-depth research of European and Chinese bone setting therapy. Cecile Chabot, who is also from France, has a different educational background compared to the other aforementioned three students as she received a diploma in Mechanical Engineering, but resolutely abandoned work and headed from the West to the East to devote herself to medicine and ended up practicing traditional Chinese massage and Qigong along with other TCM practitioners. Considered as the first apprentices of the “Silk Road TCM Emissary Initiative”, they will continue their practice with their individual senior TCM masters in order to achieve a more in-depth understanding of TCM culture as well as traditional therapy methods, and to promote TCM all over the world.

   The apprentice ceremony of outstanding TCM students and their individual masters was held at the launching ceremony of the “Silk Road TCM Emissary Initiative”

    Written by Xu Yue (Silk Road Cities Alliance)