The Taiwan Department of Health has stated and confirmed that spinal manipulation and/or chiropractic adjustments are considered medical acts.
The regulation comes in response to a reportedly large number of "bonesetters" in Taiwan. Only last year, Taiwan DCs were calling for stricter regulations over bonesetters, who often advertise themselves as "chiropractics" but typically lack proper training to perform adjustments correctly. By some estimates, there are as many as 20,000 bonesetters practicing in Taiwan - nearly one bonesetter for every 1,100 people.
The Taiwan Chiropractic Association is concerned that the regulation is part of a movement begun by the "Republic of Taiwan Chiropractic Medicine Association." The person behind the newly formed association is Wang Tso-Liang (Julian). Dr. Wang is a Chinese medical doctor who also studied chiropractic in the United States. His organization is now teaching spinal manipulation to medical doctors in a 10-module series that costs over $2,000 for the entire series.
Doctors of chiropractic in Taiwan are now faced with a situation where the medical profession has essentially stolen the right to perform chiropractic from the chiropractic profession. The lack of chiropractic legislation left them vulnerable to lose the right to practice. Their only choice now is to work to reverse the decision by the DOH and establish their right to practice.
- As translated from Mandarin Chinese.
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