Representatives of Taiwan's former lepers entered the UN's Geneva offices on Sunday afternoon and unfurled a banner in a low-profile protest against the Taiwanese government's plan to relocate more than 300 former lepers.
"We sneaked into the yard of UN headquarters yesterday afternoon with help from our NGO friends there," Tsai Tsung-fung (蔡宗芳), a student volunteer who accompanied two former patients in Geneva, Switzerland, said in a phone interview.
Two former lepers, Chen San-lang (陳三郎) and Yiu Wen-chi (游文智), raised a banner reading "Taiwan miracle? Forcing lepers into jail" in the glare of the noonday sun in a yard at the offices.
The grassroots organization also said it met with a UN official to discuss lepers' human rights in Taiwan. The student activists, however, refused to reveal the official's name.
Although the brief demonstration received little attention, four representatives from the Taiwan Youth Union for Lepers' Rights and Taiwan Lepers' Self-Help Organization managed to hold a one-hour meeting with Department of Health Minister Hou Sheng-mou (
According to Tsai, Taiwan's health ministry softened its tone and extended goodwill gestures.
"Although the minister is not in a position to promise to withdraw the relocation plan, he did respond positively to our demands," Tsai said.
Just as Taiwan launched its fight for WHO observership yesterday, Tsai said, Hou promised to respect the 300 lepers' willingness to stay at Lo Sheng Sanatorium (樂生療養院).
"He promised that the health authority would not force patients to move to the newly-built Huilung Hospital nearby," he said.
In response, the Department of Health yesterday said in a statement that the health authority would ensure thorough medical care was provided for the former lepers.
"For seriously ill patients, we will arrange hospital wards and nursing staff; for disabled patients, we will offer long-term care ... and for those who are not handicapped by leprosy, we will work to offer a comfortable living environment," the news release stated.
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