Before the handover of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China in 1997, medical education in this former British colony traditionally and exclusively followed the path of western medicine. Faculties of Medicine were modelled after those in the United Kingdom, and only doctors trained in western medicine were considered "formal" and "reliable." Chinese medicine practitioners had no formal status at that time.
Before 1997, Hong Kong's medical education system was centered on Western medicine, with faculties modeled after those in the United Kingdom. Doctors trained in Western medicine were deemed "formal" and "reliable," while Chinese medicine practitioners lacked formal recognition.