SPEECH BY MR ONG YE KUNG, MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND COORDINATING MINISTER FOR SOCIAL POLICIES, AT THE OPENING CEREMONY OF THE 23RD WORLD CONGRESS OF CHINESE MEDICINE, 17 OCTOBER 2026

Mr Ma Jianzhong, President, World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies  

Dr Goh Kia Seng, President, Singapore Chinese Physicians' Association 

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen 

            Very happy to join you at this Congress. I am glad we have in our audience researchers and practitioners of both Western and Chinese Medicine.

The Emergence of Integrative Medicine

2.            I was mentioning, I want to deliberately deliver this speech in English today, because at this point, when the world is increasingly accepting Chinese medicine into their healthcare system, and there’s increasing focus on integrative medicine between Chinese and western medicine, a speech in English I think has more value. And I believe the starting point of integrative medicine is to recognise that Western medicine and Chinese medicine are historically and philosophically different systems.

3.            Western medicine has developed through scientific discovery and clinical trials. It dives deep into each human organ. It emphasises measurable evidence, defined treatment protocols, regulation and clinical governance.

4.            On the other hand, Traditional Chinese Medicine, or TCM, has developed through centuries of practical experience and observed empirical outcomes. It emphasises a holistic view of health, including the interactions of different functional systems of the body, Chinese organs and Western organs are defined differently, and also how all these systems interact with the way we live our lives and also our surrounding environment.

5.            We should neither blur these differences nor allow them to become barriers. The question is not whether one system is better than the other. In modern healthcare systems, we explore how each contribute its strengths, safely and effectively, so that we can complement them for the benefit of patients. We have witnessed some of these efforts.

6.            Take Artemisinin – the active compound derived from the TCM herb Qinghao (青蒿). Tu Youyou (屠呦呦) turned to ancient Chinese medical texts in search of a traditional treatment for malaria. Her discovery became the basis for the development of one of the most effective treatments for the disease and then won her the Nobel Prize.

7.            Another example is the acupoint Zhi Yin (至阴穴), also known as BL67, situated along the Bladder Meridian, located on the little toe of our foot. Studies of acupuncture and moxibustion have shown that it may improve the chances of turning a baby from a breech to a head-down position – non-invasively and reducing the need for a Caesarean section.

8.            These examples point to a vast reservoir of knowledge and remains to be explored, and the immediate potential of integrative medicine. I know many clinicians – Western and Chinese – who are curious and interested in developing integrative medicine. More patients are also asking how to use TCM safely to complement their conventional treatments. The World Health Organization has weighed in by adopting the Global Traditional Medicine Strategy 2025-2034.

9.            What we should not compromise on when developing integrative medicine is to build rigorous evidence for safety and effectiveness. That said, TCM should not be forced into research approaches of modern medicine that do not recognise its long history of development and accumulated empirical and observational evidence. For example, randomised controlled trials, it may not always be practical for TCM. At the same time, neither should TCM be exempt from rigorous evaluation. We need to examine each use case in integrative medicine and adapt the methodology for building evidence.

Efforts in Singapore

10.            In this regard, let me offer Singapore as a case study. We have never been at the forefront of integrative medicine, many countries have gone ahead of us, so we cannot profess to be on the forefront, but we are starting to explore it, and we take a practical and robust approach that can be a reference point.

11.            Our healthcare system has traditionally been centred on Western medicine. We are an immigrant society, so TCM has always been widely used in the community. This is partly because we took the approach of allowing self-regulation by TCM practitioners. So instead of snuffing it out by central regulation, TCM could flourish in our communities.

12.            Therefore during the COVID-19 pandemic, I took the Western mRNA vaccinations. But when I caught COVID-19, I took Lianhua Qingwen (连花清瘟). So today, one in five adult Singaporeans reports having used TCM services. Amongst them, 40 per cent used both TCM and Western medicine for the same condition.

13.            Patients do not seek treatment according to the boundaries of our healthcare system. The question before us is whether we should leave it to patients, or whether the healthcare system helps patients navigate these choices safely and confidently.

14.            From this starting point, we are actively exploring integrative medicine, and expanding the role of TCM in mainstream medicine. We are doing so in four areas – education, accreditation, integration through evidence-building and preventive health.

Education

15.            Let me start with education. In 2023, the Nanyang Technological University, or NTU, launched Singapore’s first locally conferred Chinese Medicine degree programme. This is after many years of riding on Beijing University of Chinese Medicine’s degree. We finally decided that TCM education in Singapore should have its own local graduates from NTU.

16.            NTU’s programme combines a strong grounding in Chinese medicine with clinical research and contemporary medical science. It helps students understand both the traditions of their discipline and the expectations of modern healthcare.

17.            Applications to the programme have been increasing. Enrolment rose from 25 students in the first cohort to 39 students in the following cohort. Singapore is a small market, so those are healthy numbers. The licensing examination is incorporated into the degree programme. This replaces the past practice where there was a separation between examinations for the degree and for the practice licence.

18.            To help TCM practitioners advance their competencies, NTU has introduced a Master of Science in Chinese Medicine programme this year. NTU and Beijing University of Chinese Medicine have also established a joint laboratory to apply artificial intelligence to TCM research and chronic disease management.

19.            We have also refined the Singapore TCM Practitioners Registration Examination, to place a sharper focus on the clinical skills for safe and independent practice. Since 2025, candidates who do not pass certain components no longer have to repeat the entire examination. Instead, they retake the specific components. This is a more sensible competency-based approach.

Accreditation

20.            Second area is accreditation. Two years ago, I announced the plan to develop an accreditation framework for TCM. I also asked the TCM community to work with MOH to make this happen.

21.            Many of you responded. There was an outpouring of genuine desire to establish standards and raise the quality of care for the profession. You provided inputs and ideas, and participated in site visits and mock audits.

22.            We are now ready to launch the TCM accreditation programme, which will cover both TCM services and TCM practitioners. I would like to acknowledge the TCM service providers who have participated in the mock audits and helped shape a more robust and practical framework. We are grateful for your contribution.

23.            Through the mock audits, several providers have since strengthened their processes, governance and standards. I am pleased to share that five TCM providers have successfully met the standards and will be granted the ‘Accredited TCM Clinic’ status.

24.            We believe more providers will be accredited in time to come.

25.            Accreditation is voluntary. All registered TCM practitioners and service providers remain qualified to practise and can continue to operate as before, whether or not they are accredited.

26.            Our objective is to establish accreditation as something beyond the licence of practice. It demonstrates a commitment to stronger governance, consistent standards and public confidence. It creates opportunities for accredited practitioners and providers to work with the Ministry of Health in co-designing future TCM care models and contributing to our national health initiatives.

27.            For example, Singapore, we have a network of Active Ageing Centres, 活跃乐龄中心, or AACs, as part of our national strategy to encourage active ageing and help seniors maintain social connections. There are more than 200 of them in Singapore. Our Agency for Integrated Care will further facilitate collaborations between AACs and accredited TCM service providers to bring TCM closer to the communities that they serve. Kwong Wai Shiu TCM Centre and Singapore Chung Hwa Medical Institution have started to do so.

28.            Today, when a TCM practitioner suspects that a patient may have a fracture, he cannot order an X-ray. Instead, he has to advise the patient perhaps is it the hospital’s Emergency Department or refer him to a Western doctor who can then order the X-ray. There is therefore also a suggestion to allow accredited TCM practitioners to order X-rays, as part of their collaborative shared care arrangements with general practitioner partners. This is something MOH will be studying.

TCM Integrative Sandbox Initiative

29.            Third area, more TCM treatments can be brought into the Western medicine mainstream care system. To do so, we need to build evidence on safety, efficacy and cost-effectiveness. Today, only acupuncture for neck and lower back pain has gone through that evaluation process, and is currently offered and subsidised in our public hospitals.

30.            I was in New York attending the United Nations meeting. I visited the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. It is one of the leading cancer centres in the world. Many of the patients who are undergoing cancer treatment experience long-term side effects such as insomnia, fatigue, pain and anxiety, and are asking if TCM can help alleviate those side effects. The centre has therefore been actively exploring and implementing integrative medicine in cancer care, including using TCM and other complementary practices like mind-body and music therapies to alleviate those symptoms of the cancer patients.

31.            The Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and National Cancer Centre Singapore have now expressed a desire to collaborate on integrative medicine.

32.            To support such developments, the Ministry of Health launched the TCM Integrative Sandbox, in January 2025. The sandbox evaluates whether selected TCM treatments for specific medical conditions are clinically and cost-effective. Treatments that produce such positive results over a period of one to two years can then be considered for adoption throughout our healthcare system, and become eligible for financial support.

33.            We received 18 proposals from our public healthcare clusters and selected seven acupuncture projects for trials. The projects will be evaluated by various public hospitals, including Tan Tock Seng Hospital, National University Hospital, National Neuroscience Institute, and National Cancer Centre Singapore. These projects include using acupuncture for conditions including post-stroke rehabilitation, cancer-related supportive care for management of pain, insomnia, fatigue and gastrointestinal issues, migraine, knee osteoarthritis, female infertility and drug-resistant epilepsy.

34.            We want to go further, in particular to support the use of Chinese Proprietary Medicines for purposes like managing chronic diseases. The call for sandbox proposals will therefore remain open for another three years. Details of the open call will be shared later this year.

35.            I hope that in the very near future, we will see more TCM treatments integrated into our mainstream healthcare system.

Healthier SG-TCM Proof of Concept

36.            Finally, we are exploring how TCM can contribute to preventive care. We have the national strategy called Healthier SG. It is centred on a long-term relationship between each resident and a trusted family doctor. It represents a fundamental shift in our healthcare system, from treating sickness after it occurs to helping people stay healthy for as long as possible, in other words, 治未病.

37.            There is a natural point of connection between TCM and this preventive approach. As, the classical saying goes: 养生三法：“饮食有节、起居有常、 不妄作劳”. It is embedded in TCM that practitioners guide patients on diet, exercise and lifestyle modifications and how they lead their lives. This is where there is a significant overlap between modern Western preventive medicine and the increasing realisation of the importance of social prescription.

38.            That is why we are studying how TCM can contribute to Healthier SG, to complement and enhance preventive care. The Ministry of Health is developing the Healthier SG-TCM Proof of Concept to test how collaborative care models involving both TCM practitioners and general practitioners could work in practice. We invited proposals from practitioners earlier this year. We have received 30 proposals and we are currently shortlisting applications for further discussion. We aim to launch the Proof of Concept in the first half of next year.

Conclusion

39.            In conclusion, many jurisdictions around the world, they have taken great strides in integrating Western medicine and TCM. Singapore offers a practical case study, where we respect the different traditions, explore the areas of confluence, build the evidence, uphold high standards and expand what works to improve care for patients.

40.            Through this Congress, I hope we can exchange ideas, learn from the best practices of different countries and approach integrative medicine with openness and a shared commitment to optimising patient care.

41.            I thank the World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies for the efforts in advancing the global development of Chinese Medicine, and the Singapore Chinese Physicians’ Association for its longstanding contribution to the development of TCM in Singapore.

42.            I thank everyone and do enjoy your stay in Singapore, despite the haze. Thank you.