The novelist with the cure

Taiwanese anaesthetist Wen Yung Ho quit the medical profession a decade ago, at age 36, believing he could help more sick people as a novelist. He was probably right.

Ho's name is now known in almost every household in Taiwan, and most of his books hit the top of the bestseller chart. "The Hospital" was turned into a wildly popular and award-winning TV drama series starring pop star Jerry F4.

"The Hospital" and two other top-selling novels by Ho are now available in Thai translations at Nanmee Books. His work has also been translated into Japanese, Korean, Mandarin and Indonesian.

Attending the Bangkok International Book Fair, Ho was glad to be finding a new fan base in Thailand.

"I believe Thai readers will be able to identify with my characters and their world views," he said. "We share some common Buddhist values."

As an anaesthetist, Ho took pride in being able to bring relief, however temporary, to people in pain. But the profession's politics and shifting values prompted him to resign from Wan Fang Hospital at National Taiwan University.

He started anew as a writer, bent on lifting the lid on the dark side of doctoring.

The novel that resulted, "The Hospital", reveals sordid facts about a profession he says is increasingly diseased itself. Doctors and administrators succumb to the temptation of wealth and power and end up paying scant attention to the sick and the poor.

Ho is adamant that ethics and patient equity regardless of financial and social status should be the primary priorities. But he insists he's not "disappointed" with the profession.

"You can't call it disappointment. In the real world, bad things exist, and you have to face reality. My point is that mainstream values sometimes lead nowhere. Technology, wealth and power don't always guarantee happiness. It's easy to lose your original intent as a doctor amid the lure of wealth and power.

"The most important thing about being a doctor is helping people," Ho said. "But if you're a doctor and you seek only to earn the money or acquire power, you'll be an unhappy doctor.

"We are losing our purity, trust and other things that we take for granted. Through my books I want to make everyone think deeper about their lofty goals in life. The biggest problem we have now is that people are losing their ability to tell the difference between good and bad values."

As a writer, Ho has found he can do much more to help people than a doctor can. His mission is to remind people of the deceptive appeal of wealth and fame. He places himself in the situations portrayed in his books and comes up with a diagnosis and remedies for an ailing society.

"In some ways it's like the medical process. Maybe I don't come up with a cure, but at least a diagnosis will help put the problem in perspective. I like the way my books change people's ways of thinking.

"Writing is the best way to channel my ideas to others," Ho said. "I love the feeling of connecting with readers. When I write, I always visualise myself writing for one reader. It's like when you fall in love with someone, you always think about that single person.

"But when the book hits the bookstores, many more people share the experience. That's how I reach out to a great number of people. I can't do that being a doctor!"

Though a best-selling author, Ho said he doesn't really enjoy the lofty financial status, because his goal in writing is about entertaining and educating readers, not banking his earnings from sales.

"Writing is very important to me, even more meaningful than being a doctor. It's helped me know myself much better, helped me connect with the world on a profound level. It gives me both happiness and suffering - especially if you have to sit in front of the computer screen writing for 10 hours a day. But I've become busier and happier as a writer."