International Senior Forum of Traditional Chinese Medicines & Botanical Products" was organized by the State Drug Administration, State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicines and supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology. The meeting was held in a city where the most beautiful lake of China is situated, Hangzhou on Oct. 19-23, 2001. This forum had invited senior officials of the government drug administrations of more than 27 countries and wellknown experts, scientists and entrepreneurs in the research and development field of traditional Chinese Medicine and herbal medicine. There were Mr.Vichai Chokevivat (Director-General of Drug Administration of Thailand); Hiroshi Sasaki (Director–General of the Japanese Botanical Medicines Association); Mr. Xie Iuashen (President of Natural Healthcare Products in Canada); Ms. Zhang Xiaorui (Senior official of WHO); Mr. Chen Shaochen (Senior official FDA of USA); Mr.Yee Shen Kuan (Center for Pharmaceutical Administration Health Sciences Authority Singapore); Mr. Thomas Watson Cheung (The Department of Health of Hong Kong SAR); Mr. Soo-Chun Park (Korea); Mr. Antoine Sawaya (France); David R Briggs (Australia); Dr. Peter John Hylands (King’s College London); Mrs. Christine Leon (Kew Royal Botanical Garden, UK); Eric Chen (USA); Mr. Paulo Pisco (Health Commission of the Portuguese Parliament). There were more than 750 people who participated in the meeting.

 

The President of the Pan European Federation of TCM Associations Dr. Dong Zhilin was also invited and delivered a speech titled : "TCM in Europe", which was well received by the audience. The PEFOTS vicepresident Dr. Zhu Guo-Guang also gave a speech "TCM enters the EU and the issue of the GAP".
Zheng Xiaoyu and Ren Dequan came to the meeting and delivered speeches too. They introduced the recently revised "Law on the Drug Administration of the People’s Republic of China", the specification on the quality management of the traditional Chinese medicine,GAP,GLP, GCP and GSP. In the meeting, many experts discussed the GAP concerning many herbs, like semen coicis; gingko biloba; panax notoginseng; ginseng; licorice root; wolfberry fruit; huajuhong; sea horse and ma huang. There was also discussion on chromatographic fingerprint analysis.This is a comprehensive quantifiable assessment on the quality of Chinese herbal medicines. Some professors mentioned the reports abroad of the adverse side-effects of aristolochia acid in Chinese herbs. They suggested the rational analysis of the adverse reactions of Chinese herbs through:
1. TCM diagnosis and treatment based on an overall analysis of signs and symptoms; 2. Paying attention to the compatibility, effect enhancing and toxicity reduction of the many herbs ; 3. The feasible dosage, treatment withdrawal after achieving a curative effect