Daniel Bugeja is interviewed by Xinhua at the Mediterranean Regional Centre for Traditional Chinese Medicine (MRCTCM) in Malta on the 28th of April 2022. (Chen Wenxian/Xinhua)


Established in 1994 in 1994, the MRCTCM is a health cooperative that has around 100 Chinese doctors who have treated 200,000 patients up to now.

VALLETTA 17 May (Xinhua) (Xinhua) About the time of six months, Daniel Bugeja could hardly walk due to back and leg pains brought on by sciatica despite taking a number of pills. Things became worse after he was diagnosed with COVID-19.

However, following an acupuncture therapy within the Mediterranean Regional Centre for Traditional Chinese Medicine (MRCTCM) in Malta, Bugeja is regaining the freedom he once enjoyed and also the social circle he has established.

A 51 year-old Maltese national working for an agency of the government, started TCM treatments in the month of November of last year. The chronic pain in his body began around two years prior to.

So so far, Bugeja has had the TCM treatment nearly 20 times. “It has helped me to get my normal life back,” he told Xinhua.

Established in 1994 in 1994, the MRCTCM is a Sino-Maltese healthcare cooperative with about 100 Chinese doctors who have treated more than 200 000 patients so far.


Patients Daniel Bugeja is treated with Acupuncture within Paola, Malta, on April 28, 2022. (Chen Wenxian/Xinhua)

Bugeja tried acupuncture for the first time after an acquaintance had recommended it. He now is a fan of it for friends with similar issues, even if they’re scared of needles.

In the last week of December, he was forced to stay three days in bed and for 14 days in quarantine in his home after getting infected with COVID-19. But, even after his recovery his cough, he was still suffering and felt extremely fatiguedand even the climb up a staircase was too much for him.

After he recommenced treatment at the MRCTCM to treat his sciatica physician, Zhou Lingyun, suggested the use of acupuncture to treat the cough and help restore power.

“I didn’t take any medication and my cough was gone,” Bugeja said.

Concerning sciatica His previous doctors had informed him that they would need to endure the pain and had accepted that. The medications he was prescribed resulted in anxiety and caused stomach upset. There was nothing that worked, aside from Chinese medicine.

Dr. Zhou Lingyun, a member of the 17th Chinese Medical Team for Malta is treating the patient Daniel Bugeja with acupuncture in Paola, Malta, on April 28th 2022. (Chen Wenxian/Xinhua)

“Now I can say that my back is in good shape!” He assured Xinhua.

He was once interested in Asian culture, and had heard about TCM. He said, however:

“I didn’t think I’d ever use it,” he said. “Now I advise people to visit the Chinese clinic and you’ll be fine.” #