Singapore (dpa) - The number of non-western general medical clinics - a majority of which are operated by practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine - grew by 59 per cent between 1990 and 1998 and their annual income has grown twice as fast as those run by Western-trained doctors.

The turnover of clinics run by sinsehs - practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine -grew at an annual rate of 21 per cent, almost double that of the Western medical clinics' turnover growth rate of 11 per cent a year, the Straits Times reported on Thursday.

For many sinsehs, the practice of Chinese medicine is a family tradition. Siow Yung Ching, who runs the Huaxia Acupuncture and Chinese Medical Centre, said that helping out at his dad's clinic as a child convinced him that practicing traditional Chinese medicine was the ideal career for him.

The 54-year old gained a degree in biology before he decided to spend four years at a Chinese Physicians' Training College in Singapore. Two of his brothers went into the same business while a third one 'rebelled' and studied Western medicine.

To lift standards and boost the public's confidence in sinsehs, the Singapore Parliament passed the Traditional Chinese Medicine Bill on Tuesday. It requires Chinese physicians to be registered by their own professional board. A new board will be set up to register the doctors, accredit training in traditional Chinese medicine and regulate the conduct and ethics of sinsehs.

Welcoming the new Bill, Ong Boo Gong, president of the Singapore Chinese Medical Union, said it would lift professional standards and ethics and improve the image of Chinese doctors.

"The standard of Chinese physicians varies now," he said. "Some were trained in institutions while others had their skills passed onto them from their ancestors."
　　
　　(From Sohu)