Clashes broke out yesterday morning between police and Losheng Sanatorium activists as officers removed the protesters staging a sit-in outside a dormitory ahead of the compound’s scheduled demolition.
“[Department of Health Minister] Yeh Ching-chuan [葉金川], come talk to us,” around 200 protesters shouted repeatedly as they linked arms outside the Joan of Arc Hall, one of the compound’s dormitories.
The demonstrators started gathering late on Tuesday night after hearing that a partial demolition of the sanatorium would begin at 7:30am yesterday.
PHOTO: WANG YI-SUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
The sanatorium, completed in 1930 during the Japanese colonial period, was once used to isolate people with Hansen’s disease — also known as leprosy.
A campaign to save the complex in Sinjhuang City (新莊), Taipei County, started a few years ago when the location was selected as the site for a Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) maintenance depot.
Joan of Arc Hall is one of the oldest buildings on the compound and was used to house single women. The hall was to be one of the first buildings to be torn down yesterday. It was unclear whether the demolition took place, as reporters were later blocked from the area.
As head of the department in charge of managing the sanatorium, Yeh has the authority to register Losheng as an historic site with the Council for Cultural Affairs, according to the Cultural Assets Protection Act (文化資產保護法).
Upon receiving the report, the council would be required to launch a review process, during which the sanatorium could be protected as a “temporary historic site.”
However, Yeh did not appear to talk to the protesters. Instead, more than 500 police officers, including SWAT team members, arrived.
“We are here on official duty, and you are in the way. If you do not leave within 10 minutes, we will have to remove you by force,” Sinjhuang Precinct Chief Hsu Yung-sheng (?? said through a loudspeaker.
The protesters ignored the warning and continued their chants.
After a 20-minute standoff, Hsu ordered the officers to remove the demonstrators and the situation deteriorated.
“Don’t you touch me,” protesters were heard shouting at police.
“Stay calm. You shouldn’t be here. You should stay home and study,” Hsu told the protesters, most of whom seemed to be high school or university students.
The police removed the protesters after more than an hour and proceeded to break into the barricaded Joan of Arc Hall.
Losheng resident Lan Tsai-yun (藍彩雲) and a few other protesters had locked themselves inside and blocked the doors and hallway with furniture.
The police broke the door with a saw and escorted the remaining people out.
“I didn’t want to come live here, I was brought here by force when I was little,” Lan said, crying. “I’ve lived here for more than 50 years — much longer than I was at home.Where am I supposed to go now that you’re forcing me to leave?”
“Leprosy has damaged our bodies, but this government has a damaged heart,” Chen Chai-tien (陳再添), another Losheng resident said.
Hydraulic shovels moved in after the area was cleared to proceed with the demolition.
Asked for comment on the issue, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday that Losheng was under review to determine whether it qualified as an historical site. Before a decision had been reached, the demolition should not proceed, Tsai said.
The former DPP government came up with a proposal last May to preserve 39 of the buildings, while promising to reconstruct the 10 that would be torn down, Tsai said, adding that the party still supported that solution.
Tsai said President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) had promised to preserve Losheng during his election campaign, but had now broken his promise.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY RICH CHANG
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS