China needs to train more doctors

THE CHINESE LANGUAGE is rich in concise, sardonic sayings, many of which reflect universal truths. It also includes lots of phrases steeped in a world view that is distinct to China. One such is yi buguo erdai, meaning “no doctor’s child becomes a doctor”. This may be accompanied by a cynical shrug, perhaps after reading about the latest Chinese hospital boss arrested for bribe-taking or a fresh scandal involving fake medicines. The saying is also used on hearing news outlets describe another stabbing or assault of a doctor at work—for fully two-thirds of doctors told the Chinese Medical Doctor Association in 2017 that they had been attacked or threatened in a hospital, often by their patients’ angry relatives. Small wonder that in one survey after another, few want their children to be doctors.

Elsewhere, doctoring is such a family business that journals of medical ethics devote papers to the subject. One such study found that one in five American medical students has a parent who is a physician. In China the profession is neither very prestigious nor especially well paid: even senior doctors typically earn just over 100,000 yuan ($14,500) a year—hardly a fortune in a big city.

Then came covid-19. Communist Party leaders have declared their handling of the virus a triumph, and are willing to...