Original news summary: (http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-
09/21/content_3520107.htm)

Dr Eduard Klarer's practice, in the Swiss mountain town of St
Moritz, is modern, minimalist and pristine.
In Zhengzhou city of China's Henan Province, Klarer studied
intensively for three years at the Henan College of Chinese Medicine.
Under the special tutelage of Dr Si Fuchun, he completed courses in
both herbology and acupuncture, and is now a fully qualified
practitioner of TCM.
Hard work and time, however, proved Klarer's skill, and eventually
Chinese patients were asking for him.
Here in China, TCM pharmacies are stuffed with strange fungi, dried
geckos and seahorses, but as yet, Klarer cannot prescribe these;
Swiss patients would refuse to take them.
What he gives to his patients are ingredients in granulated form,
that are completely unidentifiable.
Klarer related how this can provoke a violent reaction when people
aren't used to it: "Once, a lady I treated with guasha said that her
husband hadn't spoken to her for two days after the treatment.
Despite the obstacles, demand for TCM in Switzerland is rising, as
more and more Swiss consider it as a serious alternative to Western
medicine.
Learning the concepts of Chinese medicine gradually came to change
the understanding of the world that he had learned from life and
study in Europe.
The balance Klarer refers to is that between yin and yang, the
omnipresent opposing but complementary forces of ancient Chinese
philosophy, and a pivotal concept of Chinese medicine.
Many Swiss are now choosing to learn it at home, through weekend or
correspondence courses, and the level of proficiency they can reach
by doing this is not high.
According to the Swiss Professional Organisation of Traditional
Chinese Medicine (SPOTCM), there are currently around 550 qualified
practitioners of Chinese Medicine in Switzerland, and around 500
more in training, and this is in a country of 7.5 million people.