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Su apologizes for leprosarium debacle

Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday apologized for the recent furor over the Lo Sheng Sanatorium as President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) called for an "acceptable solution" to be found.

The Lo Sheng Sanatorium was built in 1930 as a place where leprosy sufferers were quarantined for life. It is scheduled to be torn down next month to make way for construction of a Mass Rapid Transit maintenance depot.

Residents and preservationist groups have staged numerous protests over the past few weeks trying to halt the eviction of patients from the leprosarium and prevent the compound from being demolished.

"Although the Cabinet is not fully responsible for this issue, I still feel upset about it and would like to apologize to the public," Su said in the Legislative Yuan yesterday.

Su cited three reasons for his apology. First, he said, in the past most people did not understand leprosy and were afraid of it, so the government did not take good care of the patients.

Second, the government had not handled the case well, which had led to conflict and delays to the construction of the Mass Rapid Transit system.

"Third, the government had failed to do a good job in terms of preserving the nation's cultural heritage," Su said.

"These are long-term problems. But, now that I am the premier, it is my responsibility to take care of things," Su said, adding that he would instruct the relevant government agencies to negotiate with the sanatorium.

Chen, who visited the sanatorium in 2004 and apologized to residents on behalf of the government for its past mandatory quarantine policy, expressed the hope yesterday that the controversy surrounding the leprosarium's fate would be resolved soon and that a resolution acceptable to all parties would be found.

Human rights activists, preservationists and engineers in favor of the preservation of the compound have proposed a plan which would see 90 percent of the existing sanatorium preserved while Taipei's City's Department of Rapid Transportation Systems is insisting on its plan, which would demolish around 60 percent of the existing buildings.

Preservationists filed an administrative lawsuit against the department in May last year.

Although the lawsuit is still ongoing, the Taipei County Government posted a notice last week instructing the remaining residents to move out by April 16.

In response, lawyers supporting the leprosarium filed an application yesterday with the Taipei High Administrative Court seeking a provisional disposition.

A provisional disposition would provide a legal basis for Lo Sheng's preservation until the administrative lawsuit or a legislative procedure comes to a conclusion.

"How can they demolish Lo Sheng if the administrative lawsuit is still ongoing and the legislation is still under negotiation?" said Cheng Wen-lung (鄭文龍), a lawyer and Lo Sheng preservationist.

The Hansen's Disease compensation act (漢生病補償條例), a proposed bill which would provide a legal basis for compensation to former quarantined leprosy sufferers and preservation of the leprosarium, is currently being negotiated by the legislature.

"During party negotiations yesterday [Thursday], the clauses concerning compensation, on-site care and preservation [of Lo Sheng Sanatorium] were passed," Cheng said. "The draft legislation is ready for its second reading, so how can the [Taipei] County Government demolish the buildings now?"

The second reading is the key stage in the legislative process, as only minor changes would be made after the second reading before the draft legislation becomes law.

Meanwhile, members of the Youth Alliance for Lo Sheng staged a demonstration in front of Taipei County Hall yesterday morning.

"We wanted to remind [Taipei] County Commissioner Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋) of the promise he made last year," said Kuan Wu-yuan (管婺媛), a member of the Youth Alliance, adding that on July 30 last year, Chou visited the leprosarium and signed an agreement promising that he "would never use forceful means to demolish Lo Sheng Sanatorium."

In response, Deputy County Commissioner Chen Wen-jen (陳威仁) said that the county would not insist on its current plan and would cooperate if the Executive Yuan came up with a new plan.

Additional reporting by Jimmy Chuang and CNA
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