Agenda-Setting for the Regulation of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Hong Kong

Abstract

This article is a study of the agenda-setting process for the regulation of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in Hong Kong, the first such policy in 150 years of colonial rule. Kingdon’s streams model is used as the tool of analysis. Data were collected from interviews with key individuals involved in the policy-making process. It is suggested that the political changes in the transitional period, in particular the democratisation of the Legislative Council (LegCo) and the growing influence of the Basic Law, made the Hong Kong government less autonomous in its policy-making and thus made the emergence of this new policy possible. Policy entrepreneurs were found among TCM practitioners, western-trained doctors, and government officials. A characteristic of the policy on TCM is the extent of support it received not only from its benefactors, that is, the TCM practitioners, but also from the Chinese government, the LegCo, and even some leading western-trained doctors.

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Polly L H Ho

Polly L H Ho works at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.