The Mediterranean Regional Centre for Traditional Chinese Medicine (MRCTCM) celebrated its 20th anniversary in Paola.

The centre was officially established in 1994 through an agreement between the Chinese and Maltese governments, through which traditional Chinese medicine services were introduced in Malta.

The Health Department of China’s eastern Jiangsu Province is responsible for dispatching medical teams biennially, and within the past two decades, 11 medical teams were sent to the MRCTCM.

In the presence of Energy and Health Minister Konrad Mizzi and Chinese Ambassador Cai Jinbiao, the centre’s board of directors chairman Raymond Busuttil explained the work that has been done over the past 20 years, saying that 140,000 patients, including locals and foreigners, diplomats and Chinese residing in Malta, have received treatments.

Apart from providing Chinese medical services, the centre has also organised lectures on traditional Chinese medicine and courses on Chinese self-massage. Moreover, two of the centre’s doctors work outside of the centre, running out-patient services at Mater Dei Hospital and at Gozo General Hospital.

The team at the Mediterranean Regional Centre for Traditional Chinese Medicine in Paola.

Through a video clip, Ma Xiaowei, deputy director of the Chinese National Health and Family Planning Commission, expressed his warm congratulations and extended his gratitude to the Maltese government and to the Maltese people for the care and support given to the centre.

Mizzi expressed his appreciation of the work carried out by the centre, saying that his expectation was that one day it would become the most influential traditional Chinese medicine centre both locally and in the Mediterranean region.

The centre’s director Wang Xiaolan, who explained that the centre had been extensively refurbished in 2012, announced the winners of the Chinese Doctors through My Eyes writing competition.

The winners were: Olivia Galea Seychell and Kurt Sciberras (first prize); Joyce Beck, Rita Formosa and Karen Debono (second prize); and Kenneth Abela, Lorraine Azzopardi and Nicholas Mediatore (third prize).