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Chinese medical degrees raise ruckus
HEALTH RISK: Medical experts say a plan to recognize Chinese medical degrees
could put Taiwanese at risk because China has very low standards of medicine
By Vincent Y. Chao
STAFF REPORTER
Wednesday, Jul 28, 2010, Page 3
Top medical experts strongly condemned any move toward
recognition of Chinese medical degrees, saying it could have a severe impact on
public safety and undermine Taiwanese medical standards.
More than 70 medical organizations have signed a petition urging the government
to close a legal “loophole” that could allow Chinese doctors to practice in
Taiwan in the near future.
Their voices found resonance with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which
opposes an amendment expected to be raised by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)
caucus next month, paving the way for the conditional acceptance of Chinese
degrees.
The proposed revision would mean the Ministry of Education would have to devise
regulations providing for recognition of “education acquired in the mainland
area” by both Taiwanese and Chinese students.
At present, only Taiwanese students and Chinese permanent residents in Taiwan
are conditionally eligible.
The DPP has vowed to reject the revision over concerns that it would exacerbate
a drain of talented Taiwanese across the Taiwan Strait and force Taiwanese
professionals to compete with their Chinese counterparts.
National Federation of Associations of Physical Therapists president Chien
Wen-jen (簡文仁) yesterday said it would be “completely unacceptable” if the
revision passed without a clause expressly prohibiting medical degrees from
being included.
The large gap in teaching, testing and standards between Taiwan and China would
drastically affect the quality of medical services if students in China were
able to practice in Taiwan, he said.
Such a move, he said, would eventually force local doctors out of business
because of increased competition.
“If they [Chinese doctors] come, it will be a flood and some will drown,” he
said.
Chien said legislators should consider making it easier for Chinese students to
learn in Taiwanese universities.
Under such a scenario, it would be “more acceptable” to let them acquire medical
certification and practice in Taiwan, he said.
The Union of Pharmacist Associations also spoke against the inclusion of medical
degrees in the revision, saying its opposition was based on concerns over public
health and medical safety.
“The quality of Taiwan’s medical services is acknowledged globally. Even the
Chinese have admitted that Taiwan’s standards are much higher than theirs,”
association secretary-general Tseng Chung-lung (曾中龍) said.
This should not be taken lightly, he said, because the impact would be felt in
terms of human lives.
Whether medical professionals’ concerns will be included in the amendment by the
Department of Health remains to be seen.
A department spokesperson told the Taipei Times yesterday that while he
understood some of the questions raised by medical organizations, the agency had
yet to discuss the revision in detail.
“We will take the quality of medical services in Taiwan into account ... but we
have yet to discuss the matter,” he said. “Based on our understanding ... not
all [types of medical certification] would be recognized.”
DPP lawmakers harshly criticized Deputy Minister of Health Chen Tzay-jinn (陳再晉)
in the legislature last month after he admitted that he had yet to read the
proposed revisions.
The operator of a large education consulting company that specializes in sending
students to China told the Taipei Times, on condition of anonymity, that there
had been a substantial increase in high school and university graduates looking
to study in Chinese medical schools.
In the last month alone, his company was approached by about 20 students from
the nation’s most prestigious universities and high schools, he said.
“We look forward to the new law,” he said, adding that he expected the number of
inquiries to keep increasing.
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