Liu Minxia, Cao Ying

    mllmx@msn.com

    AN increasing number of expats in Shenzhen are turning to traditional Chinese medicine to help them deal with health issues while some international residents consider it unscientific in theory, inhumane if they use rare animals’ body parts as ingredients and inconvenient to take, a Shenzhen Daily survey found.

    Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has developed over the past 2,000 years and is receiving more attention worldwide. TCM doctors in both public hospitals and private clinics around the city said they have been treating more expats in recent years and larger proportions of them are returning when a new problem arises and are encouraging their friends to try TCM.

    Half of the nearly 20 expats interviewed by Shenzhen Daily said they used TCM, thought it was helpful and had few side effects while some admitted they didn’t use TCM because they knew little about the theories behind TCM. They doubted that old Chinese ways could apply to modern medical standards.

    Christoph Joerg, a 27-year-old life coach from Germany, has been using cupping, massage, acupuncture, as well as herbal medicines at a Shenzhen hospital to treat his lung issues and back pains since 2013. “I have always respected TCM and have always considered it an effective alternative as well as a substitute for Western medicine applications. I prefer TCM to Western medicine because it is a healthier approach,” he said.

    But others were not keen on TCM. “With TCM, a person has to take the medicine for a long time, too many doses a day. I think there should be more scientific evidence to support its use, also quality assurance,” said James Roth, 62, an English teacher from the United States who used TCM last year to relieve his headaches.

    Kevin Smith, a U.S. teacher in the city, said he believes that TCM is good as a way of life, which is designed to keep people healthy by eating the right food and drinking at the right time of the day and year, but it is not good when it comes to animal protection. “I just cannot tolerate medicines made from scary insects or medicines made from killing rare animals like tigers and bears. Sometimes bear bile is used to make TCM, but it causes innocent animals to suffer their entire lives. I don’t think animals should suffer in order to make medicines for people. The suffering, misery, and stress those animals feel will just be transferred into our bodies.”

    TCM doctors and pharmacist refuted such claims, saying that dozens of TCM medicines made from wild animals have long been prohibited from use in China, including tigers’ bones and rhinoceros horn. “TCM doesn’t lose its appeal in curing disease by cutting out these ingredients, and there are always substitutes you can choose from,” said Han Fei, a veteran TCM pharmacist and manager of a Shenzhen-based TCM pharmacy chain called Nanyue Hanfang.

    TCM doctors and some expat patients agree that practitioners of TCM vary a lot in capability. “Finding a good practitioner is the most important element for getting good results, as is getting high quality herbs,” said Mike B., 60, a U.S. consultant who cured his health problems by taking herbal medicine at a Luohu hospital four years ago.

    Huang Huajun, an acupuncturist who runs his own clinic in Nanshan District, said expat patients keep coming back to see him after he cures them. “TCM doctors’ capabilities and understandings vary,” said Huang. “That’s why some expat patients trust TCM after using it once while others don’t.”

    Meng Li, a Shekou People’s Hospital doctor who set up a translator database to help expats seeking medical services in Shenzhen, gave an example of how effectiveness encouraged expats’ trust in TCM. “After a Russian man living in Shenzhen had his vertebral cervical spondylitis cured by using acupuncture at our hospital, he persuaded his father-in-law to give acupuncture a try,” Meng said. “His father-in-law flew in from Russia to receive the treatment and flew back right after being cured.”

    Luo Wenshu, a doctor with Shenzhen Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, said that anyone could use TCM because it cures by striking a balance between a body’s yin and yang. “Many Western countries value TCM as we do,” said Luo. “In Australia, for example, TCM is covered by the national medical insurance plan and a recent survey showed that nearly 20 percent of Australians used TCM.”

    Yu Haibo, director of the acupuncture department at Shenzhen Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, said TCM values reasoning while Western medicine hinges on logic. “It’s unscientific to value one approach with another approach’s theory.” Yu suggested the city government support TCM. “Many expats in Shenzhen have opted for acupuncture when conventional medicine didn’t work or on recommendations from friends,” said Yu. “I share TCM knowledge with them to help them better understand what they are receiving. Some haven’t used it because they know little about it. Our government should take action to promote the use of TCM among international residents through education initiatives.”

    Shenzhen is aiming for high TCM development. In its latest plan, the city government said it hopes to establish 15 TCM hospitals by 2020 and that TCM practitioners will take up more than 60 percent of total healthcare workers in the city.