The legislative effort to prevent mandatory eviction of Lo Sheng Sanatorium residents failed as cross-party negotiations on the Hansen's Disease Compensation Act (漢生病補償條例) broke down yesterday.
Located in Taipei County, Lo Sheng sanatorium is where thousands of people with Hansen's disease have lived since the facility's establishment, despite the low contagiousness of the disease.
A plan to tear down most of the buildings to make room for a MRT maintenance depot has met with strong opposition.
Drafts of the act have been proposed during the past two years in order to compensate Lo Sheng residents for previous seclusionist policies.
Key items on the proposed bill include compensation, on-site care and site preservation.
However, lawmakers from Sinjhuang (
"When [Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)] legislators Wu Ping-jui (
"The three legislators believe that [mandatory eviction of Lo Sheng] cannot be delayed any longer," Tien said.
"Since the negotiation couldn't continue, the host of the meeting, [People First Party legislator] Chung Shao-ho (鍾紹和) asked each party's caucus to review the draft bill again and then called off the meeting," Tien added.
Activists and Lo Sheng residents, who monitored the meeting closely, burst into tears upon hearing the news.
"We're deeply disappointed that three lawmakers could boycott a bill which so many people have worked hard for," said Lee Tien-pei (
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