The first traditional Chinese medicine legislation is introduced, ushering in a new dawn for the inheritance of traditional Chinese medicine

　　There is no rule without rules. After 32 years, traditional Chinese medicine has ushered in major benefits. The State Council passed the first legislation on traditional Chinese medicine. From then on, traditional Chinese medicine will start a new milestone.

　　On December 9, the Premier of the State Council presided over an executive meeting of the State Council, which passed the "Traditional Chinese Medicine Law (Draft)". The draft focuses on inheriting and promoting traditional Chinese medicine, insists on equal emphasis on support and regulation, strengthens policy support, and stipulates systems for admission of traditional Chinese medicine physicians and clinics, traditional Chinese medicine management, and talent training that are in line with the characteristics and development needs of traditional Chinese medicine. The meeting decided to submit the above draft to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for review.

　　As early as 1983, there was a proposal to legislate TCM. It has been 32 years since TCM legislation was promulgated. Thirty-two years later, the first traditional Chinese medicine legislation finally ushered in the dawn of victory.

　　The first national law on traditional Chinese medicine

　　Xinhuanet reported that Chen Qiguang, leader of the Chinese Medicine National Situation Research Group of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, believes that the adoption of the "Traditional Chinese Medicine Law (Draft)" at the State Council executive meeting is a key step in my country's legislative process of traditional Chinese medicine. Once the draft is passed by legislative vote, we will have the first national law on traditional Chinese medicine.

　　As a unique medical science in my country, traditional Chinese medicine has made important contributions to the reproduction and prosperity of the Chinese nation, and it still plays an important role in maintaining people's health. “For a long time, the legal construction in the field of traditional Chinese medicine has been relatively lagging behind, especially the lack of a special law that reflects the characteristics and laws of traditional Chinese medicine, which has become an important reason restricting the healthy, sustainable and stable development of traditional Chinese medicine. ”Wang Jian, president of Anhui University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said.

　　According to experts, there was a proposal to legislate TCM as early as 1983. It has been 32 years since TCM legislation was promulgated. An important reason is that TCM and Western medicine are two different knowledge theories and method systems, and the characteristics and advantages of TCM have not been clearly and unanimously recognized.

　　“Although my country has relevant regulations on traditional Chinese medicine, they focus more on the operational level. ”Chen Qiguang said that this time the national legislation will be more profound, more systematic and more complete, and will help answer some of the problems that the development of traditional Chinese medicine has been facing. “For example, how can traditional Chinese medicine resolve the relationship between inheritance and innovation, how can it be better integrated into the economic industry chain, and how can ethnic medicine be inclusive and better reflected? These are also issues that the traditional Chinese medicine community and people from all walks of life who care about and love traditional Chinese medicine have always been concerned about. ”he said.

　　Needs further implementation

　　According to the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, this law will focus on institutional innovation, follow the development laws of traditional Chinese medicine, maintain and promote the unique advantages of traditional Chinese medicine, and do a good job in connecting and coordinating with relevant laws and regulations such as medicine and health. Focus on solving problems such as the dilution of the characteristics and advantages of traditional Chinese medicine and the shrinking of service areas; insufficient innovation in theories and technical methods of traditional Chinese medicine; lack of talents in traditional Chinese medicine; uncoordinated development of traditional Chinese medicine; and poor basic conditions for the development of traditional Chinese medicine. Further promote the reform and development of traditional Chinese medicine, build a basic medical and health system with Chinese characteristics, and safeguard and improve people's health.

　　According to the "China Traditional Chinese Medicine News" report, at present, the policy of paying equal attention to traditional Chinese and Western medicine has not been well implemented, which has greatly affected the healthy development of traditional Chinese medicine. Traditional Chinese medicine in Japan, South Korea, India, and Thailand has developed rapidly and has a tendency to "four-point the world." The development of my country's traditional Chinese medicine industry is facing great pressure.

　　He Zhichao, executive president of the British Association of Practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said that data show that in 2001, my country's exports of Chinese herbal medicines were US$560 million, accounting for only 3.6% of the total international market of US$16 billion. This year, this proportion has dropped to 2%, and the gap continues to widen. my country's traditional Chinese medicine is indeed facing many development difficulties.

　　In order to support the development of traditional Chinese medicine, in May this year, the State Council officially promulgated the "Traditional Chinese Medicine Health Service Development Plan (2015-2020)" and clearly stated for the first time that on the basis of effectively ensuring the basic medical and health service needs of the people, the potential and vitality of traditional Chinese medicine health services should be fully released, and the multi-level and diverse needs of the people for traditional Chinese medicine health services should be fully stimulated and met.

　　This is my country's first national-level plan on the development of traditional Chinese medicine health services. It has made a comprehensive deployment of the development of traditional Chinese medicine health services in my country at present and in the future.

　　Some experts mentioned that it is necessary to plan in advance, study and formulate supporting laws and regulations and normative documents for the Traditional Chinese Medicine Law, speed up the revision process of laws and regulations related to Traditional Chinese Medicine, and strengthen the research and design of legal systems in key areas, especially improving the legal systems in the fields of practice of Traditional Chinese Medicine physicians, traditional Chinese medicine services, Traditional Chinese Medicine health services, Traditional Chinese Medicine and health products, protection of traditional knowledge, and development and management of integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine, so as to provide legal support for solving bottlenecks that restrict the development of Traditional Chinese Medicine and expanding the development field of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

　　Let the cause of traditional Chinese medicine set sail under legal protection

　　The Premier of the State Council presided over an executive meeting of the State Council on December 9 to deploy and promote the efficiency improvement and upgrading of central enterprises, listen to the board of supervisors' report on the supervision and inspection of central enterprises; determine measures to reform and improve the intellectual property system, guarantee and encourage mass entrepreneurship and innovation, and submit the draft decision to the National People's Congress Standing Committee to authorize the State Council to adjust and apply the relevant provisions of the Securities Law of the People's Republic of China and the Traditional Chinese Medicine Law (Draft) in the implementation of the stock issuance registration system reform.

　　Although Tu Youyou and her discovery of artemisinin cannot be said to have brought the traditional Chinese medicine industry in the motherland into a fast development lane, they at least made the world aware of the importance of traditional Chinese medicine and the huge development prospects of traditional Chinese medicine in the future. For thousands of people in China who are engaged in the research and application of traditional Chinese medicine, even without the invention of artemisinin, the status of traditional Chinese medicine in their minds has not been compromised at all.

　　Before Western medicine officially entered China, traditional Chinese medicine, as a unique medical science in my country, made an indelible contribution to the prosperity of the Chinese nation and the descendants of Yan and Huang. Even today, thousands of years later, traditional Chinese medicine still plays an important role in protecting the health of the Chinese people and treating illnesses and saving lives. Especially with the rise of traditional Chinese medicine health care in recent years, Chinese people's attention to traditional Chinese medicine has reached an unprecedented height, and the development of traditional Chinese medicine is full of unlimited hope.

　　However, for a long time, my country's legal system construction in the field of traditional Chinese medicine has lagged behind, and it can be said that it is basically in a situation where there is no legal basis. This has become an important reason that restricts the healthy, sustainable and stable development of traditional Chinese medicine. If any industry wants to develop in a healthy and orderly manner, it cannot do without the protection of the law. Regarding this, both the country and practitioners in the traditional Chinese medicine industry are not ignorant or unclear. However, because traditional Chinese medicine and western medicine belong to two completely different knowledge theories and method systems, especially in the past few years when western medicine was highly praised by the Chinese people, this has further deepened the lack of understanding of traditional Chinese medicine and directly led to the lag in the construction of the legal system.

　　Industry insiders who have carefully read the "Traditional Chinese Medicine Law (Draft)" said that this time the national legislation on traditional Chinese medicine is based on various original relevant regulations and a more comprehensive and in-depth arrangement of laws and regulations related to traditional Chinese medicine. This will make the law more comprehensive, systematic and perfect, which will help solve the inheritance and innovation of traditional Chinese medicine in future legal practice, integrate traditional Chinese medicine into the economic industry chain, and how to achieve compatibility of ethnic medicine and other "high-level" issues. In fact, only by solving these problems can traditional Chinese medicine develop in a healthy and orderly manner, instead of being left alone and scattered like it is now.

　　From a more specific perspective, the "Traditional Chinese Medicine Law (Draft)" focuses on inheriting and promoting traditional Chinese medicine. We can believe that as long as the "Traditional Chinese Medicine Law (Draft)" is passed and fully implemented, it will definitely contribute in promoting the development of traditional Chinese medicine in the motherland.