Translator’s Note: This story has caused a great debate in China. This is a selection of comments left by Mainland China Netizens beneath articles dealing with this matter:
“Can we sue Li Shizhen and Sun Simiao? They have published books! And they have not been authenticated in modern times!”
可不可以起诉李时珍，孙思邈？他们出过书！且没有经过现代认证！
“Ancient times cannot be compared with the present. There were not so many legal regulations before, but now we have to abide by the law.”
古代和现在不能相提并论吧，以前没有那么多法律规定，现在有了就要遵守法律吧
“It is absolutely possible to sue. Let them be the defendants. They must be so angry that they vomit blood.”
完全可以起诉。让他们来当被告。一定要气得他们吐血。
“As long as the life of most patients is prolonged or the pain of patients is alleviated, no major medical accidents occur, the treatment has a certain effect and the development of the disease is inhibited, and the burden on the country, society and family members is reduced, it is not a fake drug. At most, it is a problem of incomplete procedures.”
只要延长了大部分病人的生命，或减轻了患者的痛苦 ，没有出现重大医疗事故，对疾病有一定的疗效和抑制了疾病的发展，为国家、社会和家属减轻了负担，就不是假药，最多是手续不全的问题。
There is a tradition within Chinese culture of “Master to Disciple” transmission of spiritual, medicinal, and martial culture (I know – as I have been a recipient and beneficiary of it). This still occurs within the Chinese diaspora – and it still happens in Mainland China – but with the caveat that modern China requires a rigorous professional approach when it comes to medicine and selling treatments to the public. TCM has been aligned with the educational standards of modern medicine – both of which are available to Chinese citizens. In fact, there are entire hospitals dedicated to TCM within which all the staff are university-educated. Mainland TCM doctors also have surgeries throughout the West – and are often not cheap to consult (although some offered “free” treatment to Westerners during the Covid-19 Pandemic). Regardless, a number of law-abiding citizens in China disagree with what the Hou family has experienced via the PRC Judiciary. I personally benefit from TCM – and I practice a very small part of it (finger-pressure and tapping) – although I am professionally qualified as a Physical Therapist in the UK. The TCM I know was passed-on by my gongfu Master – Chan Tin Sang (1924-1993) – which includes the brewing of “dit da jow” [铁斗酒 ] (Iron Fighting Wine). My gongfu Master passed-on his highly valued and revered prescription for this “bruise removal liniment” to myself (Chan Tin Sang had studied Gongfu under his father, and TCM under an uncle – none of them qualified in the modern sense – which was normal in the old days in South China). Interestingly, I did study related versions of finger-pressure therapy from other sources within my ITEC qualification (Shiatsu to be exact) – which overlapped with my TCM knowledge and did not contradict what I had learned informally from my gongfu teacher. Of course, I do not charge copious amounts of money, or even advertise my skills – as my life took a very different course. I have provided a short English-language article from the official PRC State Media – and I have translated into English a much longer Chinese-language text that explains the complexities of this case. Study the evidence, read the links, and make up your own mind. ACW (18.2.2025)
024-12-31 China Daily Editor (English)：Li Yan
A family involved in the illegal production and sale of traditional Chinese medicines was sentenced for obstructing pharmaceutical management on Monday.
Hou Yuanxiang, originally an elementary school teacher without any background or experience in TCM, was sentenced to six years in prison and fined 10 million yuan ($1.37 million), according to the first-instance verdict announced by the Huangdao District People’s Court in Qingdao, Shandong province, on Monday.
The other defendants, which included his wife, daughter and son — also lacked qualifications as TCM practitioners.
They purchased uncertified Chinese medicinal materials and bought drug residue and powders to concoct Chinese medicines, with actual ingredients and formulation sources unclear, the court said.
They indiscriminately sold these medicines to patients with cancers and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, which resulted in delayed treatment and worsening conditions for some patients.
Their sales, amounting to over 10 million yuan, were conducted under the guise of TCM treatment, constituting the illegal production and sale of drugs, said the court.
Hou Jing, Hou Yuanxiang’s daughter, was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison and fined 8 million yuan.
Hou Yuanxiang’s wife and son and Hou Jing’s ex-husband were each sentenced to different lengths of imprisonment, along with fines.
Chinese-Language Version (Translated) – Original Author Zhao Youran (赵悠然)
29-12-2024
On February 14, 2023, Hou Yuanxiang (侯元祥) and his daughter from Qingdao were punished by law in the – first instance – for suspected production and sale of counterfeit drugs. Hou Yuanxiang was sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined up to 12 million yuan; his daughter Hou Jing (侯静) was also sentenced to 11 years in prison and fined 9 million yuan for involvement in the case. At the same time, the case involved four other family members, who were also sentenced to prison terms ranging from 8 to 3 years and fined from 5 million to 500,000 yuan. Hou Jing and her father expressed strong dissatisfaction with the verdict in the first instance – and have decided to appeal.
At present, the second instance procedure is in full swing.
After the first instance judgment, some online posts claiming to be made by Hou Jing’s relatives appeared on the Internet, describing in detail the plight of the Hou family and protesting against the unfair treatment they suffered. From these posts, we can observe that the Hou (侯) family mainly adopted the following strategies:
Firstly, the the Hou family played the sympathy card to try to arouse public support. Hou Jing’s 9-year-old son cried and asked in the video: “Mom treats patients and saves lives, how can she commit a crime?” He also mentioned “I often drink that packet of Chinese medicine liquid myself.”
Secondly, Hou Jing’s mother revealed that after the whole family was arrested, the 9-year-old nephew was left unattended and could only survive by picking up leftover food and vegetable leaves in the restaurant. They implied that the investigators interrogated the child too harshly, causing psychological trauma to the child.
Thirdly, the Hou family claimed to be the real-life representatives and incarnations of the “Medicine God” (药神 – Yao Shen), claiming that the anti-cancer drugs they developed brought hope of life to many patients. They compared themselves to the image of drug dealers in the (2018) movie “Dying to Survive” (我不是药神 – Wo Bu Shi Yao Shen – literally “I Am Not the Medicine God”), implying that they brought good news to patients as if they were their saviours, but now they are facing life threats.
Fourthly, patients jointly requested the help of the Hou family – effectively blaming the victims. The Hou family claimed that more than 3,000 patients had used their medicine, of which more than 300 were successfully cured. These patients were grateful and came forward to testify for them, leaving their ID cards and phone numbers, and handwritten petitions with handprints.
Fifthly, the Hou family attempted to link their criminal issues to a fabricated conspiracy theory – suggesting the government is engaged in a campaign “suppressing traditional Chinese medicine.” The Hou family tried to link their case of misleading vulnerable people and supplying fake medicine – to the survival of the entire traditional Chinese medicine community – implying that their experience was a microcosm of the suppression of traditional Chinese medicine in general.
For a long time, the “dispute between Chinese and Western medicine” has become a sensitive issue. Many people who support Chinese medicine believe that there is a “hidden” force that suppresses Chinese medicine, and even compares it with the “traitor conspiracy theory”. The case of Hou Jing has become the focus of this debate. It seems logically reasonable to connect the supposed “suppressing” of Chinese medicine to the alleged persecution of Hou Jing’s family. Therefore, among the people who support Hou Jing’s family, there are many practitioners of Chinese medicine, even some well-known “unqualified” doctors.
However, whether these scoundrels are speaking up for Hou Jing’s family or looking for excuses for their own illegal medical practice is worth our deep thinking. At the same time, the Hou family claimed to have received attention and cooperation invitations from others, but were threatened and intimidated because of Hou Jing’s refusal. Some people claimed to have connections in the Public Security Bureau and asked for 500,000 yuan if they did not agree to cooperate, and even reported the Hou family for selling uncertified drugs. This series of events has aroused the sympathy and support of many netizens, but before the second trial, we cannot assert that this is a “wrongful case”. Regarding the so-called background of the Hou family as being famous doctors, we need to remain cautious and re-examine the truth.
Hou Yuanxiang was born in 1956. His life trajectory did not have much intersection with traditional Chinese medicine before he encountered it. He focused on education and teaching when he was young. When he was 47 years old, he made an important decision – to stop working – and without pay – embarked on the journey of learning traditional Chinese medicine. This means that before Hou Yuanxiang reached middle age, he had been engaged in work unrelated to traditional Chinese medicine. Does this “wild” traditional Chinese medicine practitioner have real medical knowledge and skills? This is worth our deep consideration.
It is worth noting that this kind of “unregulated” Chinese medicine practitioners often like to use some false qualifications to package themselves. For example, Hou Yuanxiang once claimed that he studied at the Sri Lanka International Medical Exchange University and obtained a doctorate in traditional medicine. However, what is the authenticity and value of this doctorate? Can it really prove his medical level? These questions are worth further exploration.
We should not make rash judgments before we have comprehensive information. It is worth mentioning that the so-called “Sri Lanka International University of Traditional Medicine” is not included in the Ministry of Education’s list of foreign-related education supervision information. It is actually a private school founded by overseas Chinese. The school is small in scale, comprised of old buildings and relatively unknown teaching staff, so it is not widely recognized locally. In addition to providing doctoral certificates, the school also awards a series of “Doctoral Degrees in Traditional Medicine” and other honorary awards, such as the “World Traditional Medicine Merit Award”. These awards are all clearly marked with prices, and they can be easily obtained as long as the corresponding fees are paid.
Let’s look at Hou Jing’s case. Hou Jing, born in 1983, was widely publicized as a top student at Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. However, in fact, Hou Jing only obtained a vocational secondary school degree in traditional Chinese medicine at the age of 31 from Qufu School of Traditional Chinese Medicine. This is significantly different from her previous publicity, which has triggered further doubts about her medical background and qualifications.
Afterwards, Hou Jing furthered her studies and enrolled in the Traditional Chinese Medicine degree course at Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. She obtained a bachelor’s degree through adult education a few years later, thus shaping her so-called “professional” image. However, in 2018, she began to open a comprehensive outpatient clinic in Lingshanwei Street, Huangdao District and began to see patients. At this time, only Fu Songjie (付松杰) had a real professional background. Fu Songjie was a general surgeon, but later divorced Hou Jing and was sentenced to three years in prison and a fine of 500,000 yuan in the first instance.
When facing this series of events, the Hou family seemed to prefer to selectively display information. They published the petition written by their supporting patients on the Internet, but avoided the detailed accusations of their counterfeiting and fraudulent selling in the 53-page verdict. This approach seems to be more focused on shaping an image that is favourable to themselves, while ignoring the rights and voices of the victims.
In addition, the Hou family also used the Internet to widely publicize Hou Yuanxiang’s false personal information and sold his services on multiple platforms. Despite this, there are still many different opinions about Hou Yuanxiang’s true information and background, and there is a lack of solid evidence. In a post published by Hou Jing herself on a social platform, she claimed that she was wrongly convicted of selling fake drugs, which lacks reasonable basis. She tried to cite the case of Qin Caidong (秦才东) – the so-called “Medicine God” of Ma’anshan – to defend herself, believing that her behaviour was similar to Qin Caidong, but this example is very different.
However, she did not seem to have a deep understanding of Qin Caidong’s background. Qin Caidong was not a professional, but only studied chemistry, which was not exactly the same as Hou Yuanxiang’s situation. In fact, although Hou Jing and Qin Caidong both lack a medical background, Qin Caidong has made remarkable achievements in the field of materials science. He has an academic background from the University of Science and Technology Beijing, and was given the opportunity to study abroad with excellent grades. Later, he studied at Oxford University in the UK and focused on materials research. His “combination” drug development is essentially an innovative chemistry-led attempt led in the field of drug research and development.
Hou Jing may have tried to justify her behaviour by comparing herself to Qin Caidong in the hope of receiving a lighter sentence. However, the determination of guilt or innocence is not based on emotional factors, but requires solid evidence. According to drug management regulations, there are many problems with the drugs manufactured and sold by Hou Jing and her daughter. Not only do they lack the necessary preparation registration, drug production license and medical institution preparation license, but they also fail to meet national drug standards. This behaviour is undoubtedly an illegal act of passing off non-drugs as drugs. If it is allowed to exist, it may have disastrous consequences for the public health.
Some people may think that it is unfair to treat TCM only by certificates held – without considering the efficacy. But we must be clear that certificates and approvals are the basic requirements for industry access and an important prerequisite for ensuring quality and safety. For special commodities such as medicines, the first task is to ensure that they are harmless to people, and the second is to cure diseases and save lives. Although the Hou family’s actions may have saved some patients, they may also delay or harm other patients. Once a problem occurs, how should this responsibility be borne?
The reputation of traditional Chinese medicine has been damaged, largely due to the improper behaviour of fake doctors. They engage in false propaganda, fraud and unorthodox practices, which have led to people’s distrust of traditional Chinese medicine. Therefore, we must strengthen drug management to ensure the safety and effectiveness of drugs. In Hou Jing’s case, we must make fair judgements based on facts and evidence, rather than just on efficacy or emotional factors. Although the sentencing of Hou Jing’s case has caused some controversy, the punishment she received is appropriate for her illegal behaviour of counterfeiting and selling counterfeit products, and there is no injustice.
At the same time, we must clearly distinguish this incident from attempts to create chaos and interfere with the second-instance judgement through the Internet. We should treat this incident objectively and rationally, respect the fairness and authority of the law, and not spread unconfirmed news and rumours.
SANGHA KOMMUNE (SSR) 