Wed, Oct 17, 2001 page3

• Surgeon says caring as important as curing

  Eight years ago, Peter Huang, former head of the department of brain surgery at Saint Francis Hospital in Philadelphia and a former medical advisor to former US president Ronald Reagan, returned to Taiwan to serve in the nation's poorest region. He assumed the presidency of the Hualien Mennonite Christian Hospital in an Aborigine-dominated city with the highest incidence of head trauma in Taiwan. Last month, he was elected founding chairman of the newly formed Eastern Taiwan Society. Huang shared his ideals and beliefs with `Taipei Times' reporter Lindy Yeh

  • By Lindy Yeh / STAFF REPORTER
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  Taipei Times: Why did you give up your prestigious position in the US and choose to serve in the poorest area of Taiwan?

  Peter Huang (黃勝雄): It was the call of my religious faith. The Lord said: "Because you did it to the least of these my brothers, you did it to me." The man who influenced me the most was Dr. Albert Schweitzer. When I studied at Taichung First High School, I wrote to him to express my admiration.

  During my wedding, a highly respected ophthalmologist, Dr. Chen Wu-fu (陳五福, 1918 to 1997, known as "Taiwan's Schweitzer"), came to deliver his blessing. Chen's selfless contribution to the blind also had a great impact on me. He had written to Schweitzer in his youth, too, and was deeply encouraged by Schweitzer's reply.

  

  Peter Huang, president of the Hualien Mennonite Christian Hospital.

  PHOTO: HUA MONG-CHING, TAIPEI TIMES

  For Chen, what he cared about the most was what happens if doctors can't cure the patients. What can ophthalmologists, for example, do for the blind? There is often no cure. But you can't simply abandon them. So, Dr. Chen organized many learning and skills-training programs to give them light in the dark. We call this "care rather than cure."

  Dr. James L. Maxwell (1836 to 1921) in southern Taiwan, and Dr. David Landsborough III (1870 to 1957) in central Taiwan both served as models for me. Landsborough's son, Dr. David Landsborough IV (born in 1914) was my teacher. When I graduated from medical college, he asked me in what field I wished to specialize. When I told him I hoped to become a neuro-surgeon he asked me to join him in Changhua. So, I began to practice at Changhua [Christian Hospital] immediately after my graduation.

  Although Dr. George L. Mackay (1844 to 1901), in northern Taiwan, didn't have an academic background as a medical doctor, he trained himself and practiced medicine in order to serve the Taiwanese people. These medical doctors are all pupils of Jesus and great examples to me.

  In 1968, when I served at Hualien Mennonite Christian Hospital as a volunteer worker for one month, I found the fingers of the president of the hospital at the time -- Roland Brown -- suffering from rheumatism due to the heavy humidity in Hualien. He took aspirin quite often for the pain in his hands, which later caused his tinnitus and made him hard of hearing. Even so, he still spent almost 40 years in the backward "rear mountain" [as the eastern region of Taiwan is known] to serve the people.

  In 1990, when Brown retired from the Mennonite Hospital and returned to America, he did not even have a place to live. His breadth of vision made me feel ashamed. In 1991, when he received the Social Service and Science Award of the Taiwanese-American Foundation in Los Angeles, he called on Taiwanese to take the responsibility of looking after the disadvantaged.

  In his speech, Brown said that he had devoted his entire life to Taiwan and that he hoped that Taiwanese, particularly medical doctors, would take better care of their own people, especially of the weak and helpless in Hualien. Unfortunately, he said, for some Taiwanese doctors Hualien seemed farther away than the US.

  His words touched my heart, as though he were speaking to me personally. And it pulled me back to where I began. In 1993, I took over the post vacated by president Brown.

  TT: The Taiwan Culture Association, established by doctor Chiang Wei-shui (蔣渭水) and Lai Ho (賴和), has become a symbol of Taiwanese intellectual activities. When you decided to take charge of the Eastern Taiwan Society, was it your aim to continue the association's spirit?

  Huang: I acknowledge Chiang and Lai's devotion to Taiwan. But there were some other venerable doctors, like Tu Tsong-ming (杜聰明), who conspired to assassinate then powerful warlord Yuan Shih-kai (袁世凱) in China by putting lethal bacteria into his drinking water. Tu later became the first dean of NTU's medical school after the Japanese withdrew, and later established the Kaoshiung Medical College. He was a patriotic man. But the nation he fought for was the Republic of China founded by Dr. Sun Yat-sen, while Chiang and Lai were pursuing autonomy and liberty for the weak and oppressed peoples under Japanese occupation.

  The Taiwan Culture Association certainly is something in which Taiwanese should have pride. That is why I am delighted to chair the Eastern Taiwan Society. We share the aim of the other three societies to carry on Taiwanese culture. But the more important task is to preserve Taiwan's environment. We have already sacrificed the environment of western Taiwan, while fighting for the first piece of bread [to feed Taiwan's people]. We should have begun to think about the environment as we obtained the second piece of bread. Now, we have had the third piece of bread, but we are not yet satisfied.

  We should preserve a place for those who can't afford to go sightseeing overseas. We should not let our people breathe dirty air and drink dirty water.

  TT: Since Dr. Maxwell set up the Presbyterian mission in southern Taiwan, as did Mackay in the north in the 19th century, the Taiwan Presbyterian Church has been deeply involved in national politics, particularly the Taiwan independence movement. As a Christian, what do you think about such a role for a church?

  Huang: I used to belong to the Presbyterian Church, but I joined the Mennonite Church later. The Mennonite doctrine is deeper and more radical than Presbyterianism. According to the Mennonite Church, one must follow one's religious belief when the religious doctrine is in conflict with the national interest. This is why members of the Mennonite Church don't undertake military service, because the Ten Commandments tell us " thou shalt not kill." It's known as "conscientious objection." Jesus Christ also said: "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's."

  TT: Did you do military service in Taiwan?

  Huang: Yes, because I was already a member of the Presbyterian Church then. But the Taiwan Presbyterian Church promoted the concept that wherever people come form, once they are identified with the fate of Taiwan, they should be regarded as Taiwanese, a concept known as "Taiwan's gemeinschaft [fellowship] of destiny" (台灣命運共同體). It [the Presbyterian Church's stance] is understandable.

  As far as Taiwan's political and social reforms are concerned, I will support the good ones, and oppose the bad ones. The good and bad will be distinguished by religious belief. As for democracy, the side that wins 49 votes must follow the side which wins 51 votes. This is what democracy is all about.

  TT: If you could live your life all over again, would you have changed your profession and why?

  Huang: I would still want to be a medical doctor, because the joy to be gained from curing the sick is priceless. Through me, an instrument of my Almighty God, the patients are cured. It's a mentally and physically demanding job, but it's tremendously rewarding in terms of interpersonal relations. From it, I see that God loves the world.
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