... had even spoken / even spoke...

[Tan Elaine]

Last year, former Health Minister had even spoken about Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) - with the possibility of setting up a TCM specialist register.

Shouldn't it be 'even spoke' instead of 'had even spoken'?

Thanks.

[Calis]

Either would be fine. With the pluperfect/past perfect, it's grammatically correct to attach a time adverb or tell of a time an action was done. Somebody with more knowledge than me may be able to expand on that.

[Not a teacher]

[Raymott]

Last year, the former Health Minister had even spoken about Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) - with the possibility of setting up a TCM specialist register.

Shouldn't it be 'even spoke' instead of 'had even spoken'?

Thanks.

You've given no reason why the past perfect should be used here. The sentence only describes only one event in the past, and you know that the past perfect requires two. The necessary context is probably in the previous few sentences.
So, it's impossible to say what it should be.

[Tan Elaine]

Thanks, Raymott.

There is no mention of first action before the sentence I quoted, otherwise I would have written it. Where I live, it is common to use the past perfect since, I believe, it sounds good to the ears of non-natives like the jounalist who wrote that sentence.

Hence, it is now confirmed, in my opinion, that the writer should have used the past tense.