They still have witch doctors in Formosa but there's not much the medical profession can do about it.
"They're not licensed and they're illegal but in the rural districts some people still consult them/' said Dr. H. Y. Wei.
Dr. Wei, who is making a tour of the medical schools of the United States, is dean of the college of medicine, University of Taiwan, Taipei, (Taiwan) Formosa. •
He said you cannot force the people of Taiwan to stop consulting witch doctors. It is far better, he added, to educate them by degrees to the need of proper medical care.
Dr. Wei said even more prevalent in his country are the herb doctors. The herb doctors, he added, are licensed, even though they are not graduate physicians.
"The herb doctors, use medicine derived from plants," the physician said. "Although the
majority of these drugs are not scientific, there's no denying the fact that some of them are beneficial. Digitalis, for instance, is derived from the fox glove. Reserpin is made from an herb that has been used in India for centuries."
Dr. Wei said physicians in Formosa must also overcome many superstitions. Many people, he explained, do not want to give blood for blood transfusions because they believe by so. doing they will lose a vital part of their life stream.
"By this you must not gain the impression that we have no proper medical facilities in my country," added the physician.
He is in town to visit his good friend, Dr. Edgar Hull, assistant dean of the Louisiana State uni versity medical school.
Dr. Wei said there are 5000 reputable doctors in Formosa and three medical schools. Not enough, he admitted, for a population of 10 million.
"But we are making progress," he added. "The people of my country are, with the possible exception of Japan, more health-conscious than any other nation of the Far East." Photo :DR. H. Y. WEI
