LCQ22: Human resource situation of Chinese medicines industries
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Following is a question by Professor the Hon Chan Wing-kwong and a written reply by the Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, in the Legislative Council today (May 6):
Question:
Regarding the human resource situation of the Chinese medicines (CMs) industries, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the details of professional CMs programmes offered by local post-secondary institutions, including the respective numbers of degree, higher/professional diploma, diploma and certificate programmes, as well as the number of enrolments in each programme, in the past five years;
(2) whether it knows, respectively, the current number of graduates from professional CMs programmes, the number of persons engaged in the CMs industries, the distribution of such persons across major industries and their remuneration levels in Hong Kong;
(3) as, pursuant to section 114 of the Chinese Medicine Ordinance (Cap. 549), an application for a retailer licence in Chinese herbal medicines shall include the nomination of a person who will be responsible for the supervision of the dispensing of Chinese herbal medicines and not more than two deputies, and the responsible person nominated shall meet the minimum requirements regarding knowledge and experience set out in section 1 of Schedule 1 to the Chinese Medicines Regulation (Cap. 549F), whether the authorities know the current number of responsible persons and deputies who meet the minimum requirements set out in the aforesaid Regulation;
(4) as, pursuant to section 132 of the Chinese Medicine Ordinance, an application for a manufacturer licence in proprietary CMs shall include the nomination of a person who will be responsible for the supervision of the manufacture of proprietary CMs and not more than two deputies, and the responsible person nominated shall meet the minimum requirements regarding knowledge and experience set out in section 2 of Schedule 1 to the Chinese Medicines Regulation, whether the authorities know the current number of responsible persons and deputies who meet the minimum requirements set out in the aforesaid Regulation; and
(5) whether the authorities will actively consider implementing an accreditation and registration system for CMs professionals to further promote the high level development of Chinese medicine in Hong Kong; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
In consultation with the Education Bureau and the Department of Health, a consolidated reply to Professor the Hon Chan Wing-kwong's question is provided as follows:
(1) and (2) The number of Chinese pharmacy related (Note 1) University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded undergraduate (Ug) programmes and actual intakes in the recent five academic years (AYs) are set out below (Note 2) :
Table 1: Number of Chinese pharmacy related UGC-funded Ug programmes and actual intakes from the 2021/22 to 2025/26 AYs
| AY | Number of programmes | Actual intakes |
| 2021/22 | 1 | 15 |
| 2022/23 | 1 | 21 |
| 2023/24 | 1 | 21 |
| 2024/25 | 1 | 27 |
| 2025/26 (provisional figures) | 1 | 23 |
Note 2: UGC-funded institutions do not offer UGC-funded programmes related to Chinese pharmacy at sub-degree, taught postgraduate (Tpg) or research postgraduate levels.
The number of Chinese pharmacy related (Note 3) locally-accredited non-UGC-funded Ug and Tpg programmes as well as the actual intakes by the level of study in the recent five AYs are set out below (Note 4):
Table 2: Number of Chinese pharmacy related locally-accredited non-UGC-funded Ug and Tpg programmes and actual intakes from the 2021/22 to 2025/26 AYs
| AY | Number of programmes | Actual intakes | ||||
| Ug programmes | Tpg programmes | Total | Ug programmes | Tpg programmes | Total | |
| 2021/22 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 28 | 101 | 129 |
| 2022/23 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 26 | 112 | 138 |
| 2023/24 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 26 | 148 | 174 |
| 2024/25 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 40 | 154 | 194 |
| 2025/26 | 1 | 4 | 5 | Relevant information not yet available | ||
Note 4: Self-financing post-secondary institutions do not offer programmes related to Chinese pharmacy at sub-degree or research postgraduate levels.
The Government does not maintain relevant records on the number of graduates from various Chinese pharmacy related programmes in Hong Kong.
According to the statistics from the Census and Statistics Department, the Chinese medicines (CMs) industry mainly comprises manufacture of CMs, import/export of CMs, wholesale of CMs and retail of CMs. The principal statistics on the manufacture and distribution of CMs by industry from 2021 to 2023 are tabulated below:
Table 3: Number of persons engaged in the CMs sector by industry from 2021 to 2023 (Note 5)
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
| Manufacture of CMs | 2 630 | 2 570 | 2 660 |
| Import/export of CMs | 1 640 | 1 640 | 1 690 |
| Wholesale of CMs | 1 230 | 1 400 | 1 410 |
| Retail of CMs | 4 070 | 4 120 | 4 040 |
| Total number of persons engaged | 9 570 | 9 740 | 9 810 |
According to the statistics from the Census and Statistics Department, the amount paid for the compensation of employees (Note 6) in various industries in the CMs sector from 2021 to 2023 are tabulated below:
Table 4: Total amount paid for the compensation of employees in various industries in the CMs sector from 2021 to 2023
| 2021 (In $ million) | 2022 (In $ million) | 2023 (In $ million) | |
| Manufacture of CMs | 529.6 | 516.0 | 562.4 |
| Import/export of CMs | 428.8 | 450.7 | 490.3 |
| Wholesale of CMs | 240.9 | 318.0 | 321.2 |
| Retail of CMs | 638.2 | 631.3 | 588.9 |
| Total compensation of employees (Note 7) | 1,837.5 | 1,915.9 | 1,962.9 |
Note 7: Figures may not add up to total due to rounding.
(3) and (4) According to the Chinese Medicine Ordinance, a retailer of Chinese herbal medicines (Chms) shall nominate one responsible person for the supervision of the dispensing of Chms, and not more than two deputies, one of whom shall act in the absence of that responsible person. Both the aforementioned responsible person and the deputies must meet the minimum requirements regarding knowledge and experience as set out in Schedule 1 of the Chinese Medicines Regulation. These include having a recognised academic qualification/diploma/certificate (for example, a local university bachelor's degree in Chinese medicine (CM), a diploma/certificate in CMs issued by a local university or the Vocational Training Council (VTC), or other qualifications regarded by the Chinese Medicines Board of the Chinese Medicine Council of Hong Kong (CMs Board) as equivalent); or holding registered/listed Chinese medicine practitioner (CMP) status, and possessing the relevant Hong Kong practical experience in dispensing Chms. For details, please refer to Annex 1. As at the end of March 2026, there are 1 111 licensed retailers of Chms provided Chms dispensing services in Hong Kong. The numbers of responsible persons and deputies supervising the dispensing of Chms were 1 090 and 1 346, respectively. (One responsible person may supervise more than one retailer of Chms.)
In respect of applications for proprietary Chinese medicines (pCms) manufacturer licences, a manufacturer of pCms shall nominate one responsible person for the supervision of the manufacture of pCms, and not more than two deputies, one of whom shall act in the absence of that responsible person. Both the aforementioned responsible person and the deputies must meet the minimum requirements regarding knowledge and experience asset out in Schedule 1 of the Chinese Medicines Regulation. These include having a recognised academic qualification/diploma/certificate (for example, a local university bachelor's degree in CM, a diploma/certificate in CMs issued by a local university or the VTC, or other qualifications regarded by the CMs Board as equivalent); or holding registered/listed CMP status, and possessing the relevant practical experience in the manufacture of pCms. For details, please refer to Annex 2. As at the end of March 2026, there were 265 licensed manufacturers of pCms in Hong Kong. The numbers of responsible persons and deputies supervising the manufacturing of pCms were 254 and 330, respectively. (One responsible person may supervise more than one manufacturer of pCms.)
(5) The standards and recognition of healthcare professionals are promoted by the relevant professions in accordance with the principle of professional autonomy. The Chinese Medicine Development Blueprint (the Blueprint) sets out various policy measures to promote the development of CMs in Hong Kong, with specific initiatives formulated in areas such as CMs regulation, quality enhancement and innovative research and development. Among other things, CMs talents are key drivers of the CMs development in Hong Kong. As such, Action 6.2 of the Blueprint explicitly proposes empowering the industry to cultivate talents in CMs.
At present, CMs professionals in Hong Kong have a wide scope of work and a diverse range of functions, scattered across various sectors of the CMs industry, and professional competence standard of CMs professionals in different fields have yet been clearly established. In view of this, the Blueprint proposes establishing a dedicated working group under the future sector advisory structure. This working group will bring together relevant stakeholders from the Mainland and the local CMs sectors to discuss models for the continuing education and development of CMs professionals, with the aim of building consensus and advancing the work in accordance with the principle of professional autonomy. The Blueprint also proposes leveraging the Chinese Medicine Development Fund to promote collaborative efforts among stakeholders to conduct research on the core competence for talents in the CMs sector, with a focus to clarify the alignment between professional competence and industry development needs, thereby laying the groundwork for future exploration of continuous professional development requirements and regulation for CMs personnel. The Government's policy on the regulation approach for healthcare professions is to adopt a risk-based approach in determining the most suitable mode of regulation applicable to an individual healthcare profession, based on the level of risk posed on public health, healthcare quality and public safety when providing services. The Government will align with the development direction set by the CMs professionals and continue to maintain communication with the industry on the appropriate regulatory model.
Ends/Wednesday, May 6, 2026
Issued at HKT 18:50
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