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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