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Skeptic Offers Huge Reward to Debunk Traditional Chinese Medicine

Posted: 10/13/2014 1:51 pm

chinese medicine pulse takingThe clash between Eastern and Western cultures is no more apparent than in the practicing of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), a lifestyle passed down through multiple generations that focuses upon holistic healing through adjusting imbalances in the body.

For all the claims traditional Chinese medicine makes, it’s said to have the practical ability of determining whether a woman is pregnant just by feeling the prospective mother’s pulse.

This has become a point of contention for a popular Chinese doctor of Western medicine who has issued a RMB 50,000 reward to anyone who can prove he is wrong in saying “Chinese medicine is a fake science”.

A popular Weibo personality and burn injury specialist in Beijing, Ah Bao, doesn’t believe TCM doctors have this ability. Using his own money to back up his claims, Ah Bao has challenged TCM doctors to maintain an 80 percent accuracy rate of diagnosing pregnant women in a “debunking contest”..

Ah Bao has encouraged other “amateur scientists and enthusiasts” to add to the reward, an amount that is now over RMB 100,000.

A challenger has emerged to protect the pride of TCM. Beijing doctor of Chinese medicine Yang Zhen accepted the challenge shortly after it was issued.

yang zhen

Beijing Doctor of Chinese medicine Yang Zhen

Both parties are currently discussing the terms of the contest, which will likely include 32 women to be used as test subjects. The challenger will be separated by a curtain from his patients, and will be tasked with determining which of them are pregnant solely through checking their pulse.

With the hype building, this contest may in fact turn into a Mexican showdown with another party willing to join the fray. Not only does Chengdu TCM doctor Lu Jilai want to participate, he wants to raise the stakes and make it into a single-player elimination tournament:

Not only should we have to determine if they are pregnant or not, but we should also be able to determine how many days are left for a woman until her next period.

ah bao chinese medicine debunk contest

A Jishuitan, Beijing burn injury doctor and famous Weibo personality Ah Bao

Having written a 600-page book in 2006 explaining why Chinese medicine isn’t fake, Lu wants to make the results of this contest more authoritative by adding patients to the testing pool with a litany of ailments that include cancer, hepatitis B, and rheumatism.

Lu hasn’t yet been officially invited to take part in the contest, but he hopes it will help people better understand Chinese and Western medicine. Ah Bao also said no matter what the outcome of this contest is, it will be very meaningful.

Photos: Sina Newsnipic

Haohao

Chen Guangbiao Says Homeless American Rejected Cash Fearing US Chengguan

Posted: 07/3/2014 9:55 am

chen guangbiao new york city philanthropyBillionaire tycoon and self-styled philanthropist Chen Guangbiao recently came back from a trip to New York where, among other things, Chen handed out cash for free and treated hundreds of homeless people to lunch. Critics labeled the visit a PR stunt, and now more details are surfacing about the visit.

chen guangbiao new york city philanthropy

Tuesday morning, after returning to China, Chen Guangbiao visited the grave of Lei Feng, a person revered by Chinese people because he epitomizes the highest possible morals and achievements that a Chinese person can hold. As Chen kowtowed and offered flowers, he laid down a copy of the New York Times that told of his great deeds performed in New York, reported Sina Finance.

Chen said he wanted to report his good deeds to Lei Feng, and show how his philanthropy had made headlines worldwide. But even Chen admits his mention in the New York Times was due to an advertisement that he personally paid for.

chen guangbiao new york city philanthropy

Chen said the goal of his US visit was to spread the teachings of Lei Feng to Americans; things like the importance of being industrious, hardworking, selfless, and patriotic. He even stressed how seriously he took his kowtowing at Lei Feng’s tomb:

I gave Uncle Lei Feng three bows of the head. Each of my kowtows were heavy blows to my head. If you were standing next to me as I did it, you could hear me banging my head. Bang! Bang! BANG!

READ: Unable to Buy the New York Times, Chen Guangbiao to Treat New Yorkers

Chen then went on to call his New York trip 90% successful since he was able to achieve all of his goals:

I brought the virtue of the Chinese people to the USA and was able to change the image of the wealthy Chinese person. Also, I was able to express my opinion on the transformation of the Chinese economy, and that the Chinese economy will not breakdown. I was also able to treat the homeless to lunch, and so was able to introduce the spirit of Lei Feng to US citizens.

Those unfamiliar with Chen’s goals can read about them in his New York Times ad.

chen guangbiao new york city philanthropy

But not everything went according to plan. Chen explained why his planned lunch for 1,000 homeless people had to be scaled back to 250 at the last minute:

That’s because the NYC police would not allow it, and so we had to cancel it. I originally wanted to hold it in restaurant of the boathouse of Central Park with 300 people inside, and 700 people outside on the lawn. However, NYCPD was afraid something would happen and didn’t let us hold a banquet on the lawn.

Chen had also promised to give homeless Americans $300 each, but decided against it after strong objections in the US. He said despite not handing out the money, he didn’t break his promise:

I’ve already honored my commitment. I’ve given the money that was going to go to the 700 people to two homeless shelters. However, they don’t want to announce it to the public, and so I’ve honored their intentions. $210,000, I verify that I’ve honored my committment, and I have the receipt to prove it.

Vice reports that the homeless shelter that received the donation has been named, and it’s the same shelter that was hosting the event in the first place: the New York City Rescue Mission.

chen guangbiao new york city philanthropyBut perhaps the most humiliating moment was when Chen was rejected when trying to give money away. Chen explains:

This is a misunderstanding of the media. Many reporters were constantly following me. Right in front of the homeless shelter, I saw a vendor who was blowing bubbles and selling backpacks. I wanted to purchase something in order to help him. I bowed, and offered a hundred dollar bill with both of my hands. I said, I want to buy something from you, please keep the change. My translator translated this for him. However, because he saw so many reporters, so many cameras pointed his way, he probably thought that the chengguan (city management enforcement workers in China) were out to capture him, and so he left. There are chengguan in the USA as well. He wasn’t a homeless man, everyone there at the scene knew this. However, the media made this rumor afterwards saying that I had been rejected by a homeless person.

chen guangbiao new york city philanthropy

Unfortunately for the homeless people who still want to take Chen Guangbiao up on a raincheck, he won’t be going back to the USA anytime soon to perform his acts of charity. Rather, Chen now has his sights set on Africa.

Photo: Global Times, QQ, Sina Finance, NY Post

Haohao
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