Zhong Nanshan, director of the Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Diseases (baidu photo)

GUANGZHOU, May 8 (Xinhuanet) -- China's SARS fighting hero Zhong Nanshan was elected president of the Chinese Medical Association, becoming the second non-official head of the leading medical academic association in China.

    "The association president should be an assistant to the peopleand the government, instead of an official, and I would facilitate the association to serve for the people and the government during my tenure," Zhong was quoted by Sunday's Guangzhou Daily as saying.

    Zhong, director of the Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Diseases, said he would not abandon his clinical work for only clinical work could help doctors know what the patients need.

    Zhong is among one of the leading scientists who helped controlthe spread of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in China in 2003.

    The national academic association was founded in February 1915,aimed to promote medical exchanges, develop cooperation with foreign societies, publish a national medical monthly journal, andshowcase progress in Chinese medical sciences. Enditem