At the invitation of China's embassy in Nauru, a medical team from Shaanxi province held free clinics on the island. President David Adeang received tuina massage, acupuncture and cupping himself, and the team treated more than 300 residents, overseas Chinese and employees of Chinese firms.
A medical team organized by the Shaanxi provincial health commission traveled to Nauru to hold free clinics at the invitation of the Chinese embassy there. During the clinics, President David Adeang visited in person and received traditional Chinese medical treatment.
광고 문의 · 300×250The president arrived with Chinese Ambassador Lu Jin and, after examination by the team's practitioners, agreed to a course of tuina massage, acupuncture and cupping. A keen weightlifter, he had recently suffered stiffness in his right forearm; after acupuncture, flexibility in the arm was said to have improved noticeably.
Adeang said Chinese medicine helped with relieving sports injuries and improving sleep, and expressed hope that China would send a resident traditional medicine team to Nauru soon.
The team treated more than 300 people in all, including Speaker Stephen and Culture and Tourism Minister Scotty, local residents, overseas Chinese and staff of Chinese companies, providing close to 500 sessions of consultation, acupuncture, tuina, gua sha, cupping and auricular therapy.
The Medical Reality of a Pacific Island State
With a small population and little land, Nauru cannot easily sustain specialist medical staff and equipment of its own. Serious cases are often transferred to neighboring countries, and chronic disease management and rehabilitation have long been assessed as comparatively thin.
Under such conditions a visiting team fills a real gap. But others note that without resident staff and a sustainable supply system the effect is temporary. That is the background to the president's request for a permanent posting.
Where Medicine Sits in Diplomacy
Health cooperation is a field many countries have used in their relations with Pacific island states. Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Taiwan have each pursued medical assistance and training in their own ways. Whose medical teams arrive, and in what form, itself indicates the density of a relationship.
The substance of such programs shows in caseloads and continuity. That overseas Chinese and employees of local Chinese firms are among those treated reflects a long pattern in which diaspora communities are both the real users of these programs and the channel through which they run.
