Event — International Workshop

Perspectives on Traditional Chinese Medicine: From Taiwan’s Experiences to Global Practice

This full-day workshop takes place in Leiden, The Netherlands (not online), and is free of charge. 

Everyone is welcome, but you have to register because the number of seats is limited.

Please note that this is an in-person event only, you can't attend online.

The Workshop

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has expanded beyond its place of origin—it has become a truly global practice shaped by diverse histories, societies, and medical landscapes. This workshop brings together leading scholars and practitioners from Taiwan and Europe to explore how TCM is being reimagined and integrated across the world.

Topics range from the development of innovative formulas, such as the Taiwan Qingguan No. 1—a treatment for COVID-19 developed in Taiwan using Traditional Chinese Medicine, to the historical evolution of TCM in Taiwan, to cross-cultural encounters in the Netherlands, Germany, and to the role of Chinese medicine in East African healthcare systems. By highlighting both continuity and transformation, the workshop offers a unique opportunity to examine TCM as a field where tradition meets modernity, and where local contexts shape global exchanges.

We welcome scholars, students, and anyone interested in TCM and its future to attend the workshop. This event invites participants to engage in a dialogue across disciplines and cultures, and to reflect on how TCM can contribute to health, society, and knowledge worldwide.

Organisation

This workshop is convened by Winder W.T. Chang, Chair of Taiwan Studies at the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS) and Leiden University, and organised by IIAS. It forms part of the Chair of Taiwan Studies Programme, which is supported by the Department of Cross-Strait Education of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of China (Taiwan), the IIAS, and the Leiden University Faculty of Humanities. 

Programme: Speakers and Abstracts

All speakers have been confirmed, but we are still waiting for a number of abstracts. In the meantime, we are sharing the information that has been confirmed so far and invite you to register via the form on this page if you are interested in attending this workshop. 

Prof. Dr. Yi-Chang Su

Director, National Research Institute of Chinese Medicine (NRICM), 
Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taiwan​

 

Dr Po-Hsun Chen​

School of Chinese Medicine, College of Medicine, ​
National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taiwan

Turning Crisis into Safety: Controversies of Aristolochic Acids in Taiwan 
in the 2000s

Prof. Volker Scheid

China Centre, University of Kiel, Germany​

 

Prof. Ling Zhang​

Cinema Studies, Purchase College, State University of New York, USA

Silver Needle and the Silver Screen: Acupuncture Anesthesia
in 1950s-1970s Cinema

Dr Mei Wang

President of Good Practice in Chinese Medicine Research Association 
(GP-TCM RA), The Netherlands

Challenges in Regulating TCM for EU Market Entry

Ms. Esther Buquet

(future) Chairwoman of the Dutch Association for Acupuncture (NVA)

 

Dr Daniele Buonuomo​

Department of Human Sciences for Education​, University of Milano-Bicocca, 
Italy​

 

Prof. Elisabeth Hsu

Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, School of Anthropology and 
Museum Ethnography, University of Oxford, UK ​

Chinese medicine in East Africa: Some Methodological Reflections

Prof. Julia Stier

Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Klassische Akupunktur und TCM e. V., Germany

Bridging Medical Worlds: Learning from Taiwan’s Integrative Chinese Medicine Model

 

Registration (required)

This workshop is in-person and free of charge. Registration is required as seating is limited.

You can register via the registration form on this page. If you register when the maximum seating capacity has been reached, we will inform you.

 

Photo credits
- 金 运 on Unsplash
- Xinhua/Zhangyu (http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-03/19/c_138895469.htm)
-  "The Art and Science of Traditional Medicine Part 1: TCM Today - A Case for Integration" Produced by the Science/AAAS Custom Publishing Office (PDF)