The recent celebration of the 120th birthday of the late Chinese leader CHEN Yun, one of the most prominent early members of the Chinese Communist Party (“CCP”), has coincided with the occurrence of two medical scandals that have led to public outcry.  The scandals have triggered widespread concerns about unqualified and unethical doctors and a medical system that seems to have allowed unfair practices.  Were Chen Yun still alive, how would he handle this situation to restore public confidence?

Praises for Chen Yun

Born in 1905, Chen Yun joined the CCP in 1925 and was a dedicated CCP member until his death in 1995.  At a symposium organized in mid-June to celebrate the 120th anniversary of Chen’s birth, President XI Jinping delivered a speech to highlight Chen’s contributions.

Recognizing Chen as an important member of the CCP’s first-generation and second-generation “central collective leadership” with MAO Zedong and DENG Xiaoping at the core, respectively, President Xi spoke highly of Chen’s various achievements, including his role in “solving agricultural difficulties and food shortages”.

President Xi urged other CCP members to learn from Chen’s spirit, leadership experiences, and working methods.  Chen was quoted to have said, “The happiest thing for a person is to join the revolution and fight for the interests of the people”.  As a leader, Chen insightfully shared his criteria for selecting CCP cadres: moral integrity and ability, with the former trumping the latter.  Regarding his working methods, Chen once said, “When formulating policies, leading bodies should spend more than 90 percent of their time on investigation and research.”

“They would welcome seeing current Chinese leaders learn from Chen’s wisdom to effectively handle two medical scandals […].”

These words should resonate with Chinese citizens now.  They would welcome seeing current Chinese leaders learn from Chen’s wisdom to effectively handle two medical scandals and solve the grave problems that they have exposed.

The First Scandal

The first scandal concerns a surgeon who, in the middle of a surgery, left the operating room with a resident physician, his mistress, putting the safety of the anesthetized patient at risk.  China’s National Health Commission conducted an investigation and discovered other misconduct as well.  The commission announced in May that, as a result, the surgeon was fired by the hospital and his license to practice medicine was revoked.

It was, however, the investigation regarding the mistress that caught more attention.  It was revealed that when she applied to a distinguished hospital’s training program in 2019, she forged her academic records.  Her doctoral dissertation was a product of plagiarism.  Her academic publications contained various problems showing her lack of scientific research integrity.  All of her academic diplomas and medical certificates were, therefore, revoked.

The punishments imposed on the surgeon and the mistress did not end the public outrage.  In fact, the magnitude of the problems exposed gave rise to more concerns about potential corruption within the distinguished hospital and beyond.  The National Health Commission pledged in the May announcement to release the results of an in-depth investigation being jointly conducted by the commission and other authorities.

The Second Scandal

“While the public was awaiting the National Health Commission’s detailed report about the above scandal, rumors of another scandal broke out […]. ”

While the public was awaiting the National Health Commission’s detailed report about the above scandal, rumors of another scandal broke out, one that is even more horrendous if true.

The fall of an intern doctor from a building was determined by provincial authorities to be a suicide, despite various suspicious circumstances suggesting otherwise.  The intern doctor’s parents urged China’s national authorities to conduct an investigation.  They released audio recordings, pictures, texts, and other information kept on their son’s computer, alleging that his son was killed for reporting serious illegal activities such as corruption and organ trading occurring at the son’s hospital.  The parents’ allegations have been widely believed by many citizens in China, as they still remember that, in 2024, another doctor at the hospital was sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison for various illegal activities, including performing unnecessary surgeries on multiple patients and causing them injuries or disabilities.

Everyone hopes to receive proper medical care during an illness.  Citizens’ loss of confidence in a country’s medical system can, therefore, spread quickly, to the extent of undermining their support for the government as a whole.  In the face of the above scandals and their serious implications, Chen Yun would adhere to his principle of conducting thorough investigation and research, making sure that only those with ability and, more importantly, moral integrity can be doctors.  Top leaders in China should step in now to lead thorough investigations to dispel citizens’ doubts.  Fighting for the interests of the people during challenging moments helps the ruling party secure its own governance.

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• The citation of this article is: Dr. Mei Gechlik, China’s Medical System Needs Care from the Top, SINOTALKS.COM^®, In Brief No. 57, June 25, 2025, https://sinotalks.com/inbrief/medical-system-china.
  The original, English version of this article was edited by Nathan Harpainter.  The information and views set out in this article are the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect the work or views of SINOTALKS^®. ↩︎

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