Initiation Ceremony
The Canadian Traditional Chinese Medicine Development Alliance (CTCMDA) is a non-profit organization established for collaborations between Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioners, Western medicine physicians, communities, associations, and governments, with the vision to enhance offering of community medical services, to reduce national medical care expenditure, and to reinforce resident's satisfaction on quality of medical care in Canada. The alliance was officially announced at the Second World TCM & Acupuncture Week, with the initiation ceremony held on July 31 2022, coinciding with 2022 Chinese Cultural Heritage Festival (14th Vancouver Splashing Festival).
Hon. Anne Kang, the BC MLA & the Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Training of BC (left) photo'd with Mr. Hua Niu, the president of CCSA & the BC premier's advisory (centre), and Prof. Rong Gang Li, the founder of CTCMDA (right)
At the festival's opening ceremony, Hon. Anne Kang, the BC MLA & Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Training and Mr. Hua Niu, the president of Canadian Community Service Association (CCSA) & BC premier's advisory, and Prof. Rong Gang Li, the founder of the Canadian Traditional Chinese Medicine Development Alliance (CTCMDA), the director of Dr. Zhiming Liu TCM training institution-North American division, and the founder of Home of Canadian Traditional Chinese Medicine Society (HCTCMS) officially joint-announced the establishment of CTCMDA. Subsequently, a grand initiation ceremony was held at the TCM/MD collaborated consultation clinic in the festival. Distinguished guests included Minister Anne Kang, MLA Hon. Michael Lee, Prof. Rong Gang Li, Mr. Hua Niu, and Dr. Charles Jiang.
Prof. Rong Gang Li was interviewed by media after his speech
Prof. Rong Gang Li of HCTCMS delivered the initiation speech, "Today is a memorable day for CTCMDA. On behalf of HCTCMS and the organizing committee of WTCMAW, I expressed my heartfelt and sincere gratitude to receive strong support and congrats from the BC provincial government, CCSA, TCM and medical communities, and various sectors of society. The alliance is a manifestation of the support to build stronger TCM profession in Canada. I earnestly hope that through our collective efforts, we will advance our community medical services in Canada through the development of our TCM profession within the country. I firmly believe that with everyone's enthusiasm, wisdom and talents, CTCMDA will be a successful model for the global TCM communities."
Next, Minister Anne Kang delivered her speech, "Today marked the official establishment of CTCMDA. On behalf of the BC prov. government, I extended my warm congratulations and strong support to the alliance. traditional Chinese medicine has a positive impact on human health. The TCM profession is an integral part of BC healthcare, offering a variety of healthcare options to our local residents. We believed that with the alliance, the profession will advance community medical services to benefit all people of BC."
Hon. Anne Kang, the BC MLA & Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Training photo'd with Prof. Rong Gang Li
Mr. Hua Niu of CCSA
Next, Mr. Hua Niu of CCSA delivered a speech, "CTCMDA was established to promote the development of TCM profession in Canada. CCSA has close relationship with many TCM communities in Canada. CCSA is also always a strong supporter for the development of TCM profession in Canada. Our association will back CTCMDA with strong support, hopefully that through commitment, collaboration and strategic planning, our TCM profession can participate in a greater role in our community medical services, not only in the prevention and treatment of COVID-19, but also in the prevention and treatment of other illness. I hope that CTCMDA will become a successful model for the development of TCM profession in Canada and North America."
BC MLA, Hon. Michael Lee
Dr. Charles Jiang, former President of the Chinese Canadian Medical Society, delivered his speech, "I am very grateful to attend the initiation ceremony to celebrate the establishment of CTCMDA today. We have always had good collaboration relationship between medical physicians and TCM practitioners in BC. Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, we had TCM practitioners working side by side with our medical colleagues to offer our patients outstanding quality of care. The establishment of CTCMDA will undoubtedly elevate the collaboration between TCM practitioners and medical physicians to a new level. I believed that with the support of people from all walks of life, we will strengthen our community medical services and offer better patient care with the advancement of the TCM profession in BC.
Dr. Charles Jiang
The guests attending the initiation ceremony includes: Dr. Jennifer Gao, the vice board chair of BC CTCMA, Dr. Jiaxian Lu, Dr. JinHua Shi, Mr. Paul Chen, Ms. Sylvia Xie, and Mr. Victor Guan.