Chanting “Return justice to Losheng Sanatorium and protect residents’ safety” in front of the Taipei City Hall, several dozen activists yesterday demanded the city government ensure the safety of 35 sanatorium residents after the construction of a MRT depot caused cracks to form in the residential buildings.
The cracks have continued to appear since May in 32 sanatorium buildings preserved for the current residents, said the protesters, who included members from the Losheng Youth Alliance. The cracks proved that the geographic condition of the site was too fragile to build the MRT Sinjhuang Line’s maintenance depot on, they said.
Controversy surrounding the preservation of the sanatorium, a historical site built in the 1930s to house people with leprosy, surfaced when the city government’s Department of Rapid Transit Systems (DORTS) planned to tear down the buildings to make way for the depot in 2003.
PHOTO: LIN SHU-HUI, TAIPEI TIMES
Yielding to continuous protests from residents and activists, the Executive Yuan’s Public Construction Commission in 2007 agreed to preserve 39 buildings and rebuild 10 elsewhere after construction of the depot was completed.
After the cracks appeared in the walls and floor of the buildings, DORTS suspended construction on Aug. 13 to inspect the condition of the buildings and planned to evacuate the residents to a temporary location for safety concerns.
Sanatorium resident representative Lee Tien-pei (李添培), who is in his 80s, slammed the city government for ignoring their rights and safety over the years and said the residents would insist on their right on to stay in the current buildings.
“All of the residents living in the sanatorium are in our 80s or 90s, and it is very sad that after all these years, we still have to fight for our rights. However, we will not give up. We will not make any compromises and leave our home,” he said.
Demanding an apology from Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) for approving the construction project, the protesters almost broke into a physical fight with police when trying to enter city hall.
The protesters also demanded that DORTS offer a solution that would not require residents to move to another location.
Taipei Deputy Secretariat Tan Gwa-guang (譚國光) said DORTS already invited engineering groups to conduct assessments on the geographic condition and safety measures on the site.
The construction will not resume until the assessment report was released next month.
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