The nation's only public leprosy hospital, the Lo Sheng Sanatorium (
The book, entitled Outside the World (
"This is a book that has life in it," said Minister of Health Chen Jian-ren (陳建人) yesterday at the launch. "We see how the patients can live more optimistic, positive lives than people who don't suffer such physical problems."
"It teaches us at the Department of Health a lesson," Chen said. "We cannot put labels or stereotypes on patients with debilitating diseases, ignoring their humanity."
The bilingual edition features interviews with longtime sanatorium residents along with historic photographs and pictures by China Times photographer Lin Guo-chang (林國彰). Journalist Chang Ping-yi (張平宜) interviewed the residents and edited the text.
"Our lives as humble citizens are preserved as history," said sanatorium superintendent Huang Long-de (
Leprosy patients from Leseng met invited dignitaries yesterday at the launch ceremony.
Chen Zai-tian (陳再添), a resident at Leseng, thanked the writer and photographer for their honest reporting, and shared some of his painful experiences. Leprosy patients are often shunned, even feared, because of their deformities, said Chen.
Chang and Lin are members of the Wings of Hope Charity Group (
The photographs used in the book won a first prize at the In-ternational Dong Gang Photography Festival in South Korea. Lin himself will also receive a prize for his work, and promised to donate the prize money, estima-ted at US$10,000, to aid leprosy patients in Taiwan and China.
Vice Chairman of Academia Sinica and former education minister Tseng Chi-lang (曾志朗) helped auction off ten copies of the new book and its photos.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
MORE FALL: An investigation into one of Xi’s key cronies, part of a broader ‘anti-corruption’ drive, indicates that he might have a deep distrust in the military, an expert said China’s latest military purge underscores systemic risks in its shift from collective leadership to sole rule under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), and could disrupt its chain of command and military capabilities, a national security official said yesterday. If decisionmaking within the Chinese Communist Party has become “irrational” under one-man rule, the Taiwan Strait and the regional situation must be approached with extreme caution, given unforeseen risks, they added. The anonymous official made the remarks as China’s Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia (張又俠) and Joint Staff Department Chief of Staff Liu Zhenli (劉振立) were reportedly being investigated for suspected “serious
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
RSS