An Interpreter in Chinese Medicine

15 Dec 2003

By Mr Khaw Boon Wan

An Interpreter in Chinese Medicine

Mr Neo Say Hai

President, Singapore Chinese Physician?s Association

Mr Teo Eng Kiat

Principal, Singapore College of TCM

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

Last month, I accompanied Prime Minister Goh on his working visit to China. In Beijing, PM discussed with his counterpart on how to raise our bilateral relations to new height. After Beijing, we visited Yunnan Province, a key producer of Chinese herbs and Chinese medicine.

I grew up on Chinese medicine. When I once dislocated my elbow in a fall, my father brought me to a Chinese "tie-da" physician. When I had stomach ache, it would be "poh chai yun". When my coughing persisted, my mother would boil "luo han guo". "Yunnan bai yao" was an essential item in our household first-aid box, for wounds.

At Kunming, we visited one Chinese medicine plant. It is a modern factory, adopting "Good Manufacturing Practices". Many druggist shops line the streets, doing a roaring trade in herbs and of course "Yunnan bai yao". But the packaging of "Yunnan bai yao" is different from what I used to see as a boy. Their "bai yao" now comes in different alternative forms: as a spray, as a plaster, besides the traditional powder formulation.

In China, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is actively being modernized to reach out to a new generation. Years ago, I remember their medical practice slogan "bu zhong bu xi; zhong xi he bing" (western and Chinese medicine should be used in combination to achieve the best results for the patients). They are making efforts to see how the scientific approach of Western medicine can be applied in Chinese medicine. I heard that they were even teaching TCM in English to foreigners. These are important steps if they are to export TCM and Chinese herbs to the rest of the world. Westerners are curious and interested in Chinese medicine, but they are naturally suspicious.

The Western approach of clinical trials and practice based on scientific evidence shape their views of alternative medicine like TCM. This is not only in the West. It is also the case within China itself. I read somewhere that there are now ten times more Western-trained doctors in China than traditional Chinese sinsehs. The latter would therefore have to be upgraded if they are not to become marginalized.

TCM practitioners in Singapore must work even harder than their counterparts in China in this direction. You have taken a very important step with the professional registration of TCM practitioners. This has set the tone for the community. Your TCM College has provided the leadership in upgrading your courses, keeping pace with international trends, and forging close bilateral relations with your counterparts in China and elsewhere. On the occasion of your 50th Anniversary, let me convey my sincere congratulations and I wish you continuing success.

At Beijing, among the various initiatives discussed between PM Goh and Premier Wen was one on setting up a Centre for Chinese Medicine in Singapore. The intent is to leverage on the strengths of both countries to help bring the benefits of Chinese medicine to the rest of the world.

There is a possible role for Singapore to help bridge East and West by contributing to high quality clinical data on selected TCM treatments. Through the proposed Centre for Chinese Medicine, Singapore could work with China to conduct such clinical trials based on established protocols. We can become a key interpreter of Chinese medicine to the Western medical world. Not a passive interpreter, but an active participant, adding value to the practice. This can perhaps happen in two ways.

First, we can participate in the conduct of clinical trials involving promising TCM treatments and herbal preparations based on accepted scientific methodologies. Such trials could be concurrently run in Singapore and in selected sites in China. The trial results would be presented in major medical conferences and published in top Western medical journals.

Second, we can help with the standardization of TCM products and preparations. This is essential because the conduct of clinical trials itself will require the standardization of the herbal materials being studied. At present, most herbal preparations are poorly standardized, so that even if efficacy is demonstrated for one batch of herbal materials, this result cannot be extrapolated with confidence to other batches of the same materials.

These are some preliminary ideas on how the proposed Chinese Medicine Centre might take shape. But you are the experts in this field. You will have a better sense of what is do-able and worth doing. I hope these suggestions can lead to more inputs and suggestions.

We share a common interest to help bring good TCM practices into Western medical practice, whilst also encouraging innovation and R&D within the TCM community. Hopefully, the proposed Centre for Chinese Medicine can be a useful catalyst.

Finally, let me also congratulate the 35th batch of graduates. May you carry on the good work of your seniors and bring honour to your College.

Thank you.