Online lectures on traditional Chinese medicine launched in Malta

VALLETTA, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- A series of online lectures regarding traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) was launched in Malta on Saturday, in a bid to provide local people with a better understanding of the TCM.

In the first lecture on Saturday evening, Chinese physicians from the 17th China medical team for Malta, who arrived last October, gave a brief introduction about TCM.

Thereafter, the team will hold online TCM lectures on different topics such as Qigong. The event was jointly hosted by the China Cultural Center in Malta and the China medical team.

Mark Quinlan, one of the audience, likes practicing Qigong. "It is amazing, which triggers me to learn more," he told Xinhua.

"We are glad to help more Maltese people get rid of illness," said Chen Weifeng, head of the China medical team.

TCM is quite popular among Maltese people, especially acupuncture manipulation.

The Mediterranean Regional Centre for Traditional Chinese Medicine (MRCTCM), jointly established by the Chinese and Maltese governments in 1994, opened in 2008 a TCM department at Mater Dei Hospital, a state-owned public hospital in Malta.

That was the first time for TCM to be granted an independent department in a state hospital in the European Union (EU).