Residents of New Taipei City’s Losheng (Happy Life) Sanatorium yesterday protested outside the Executive Yuan in Taipei, demanding that the construction of an overpass near the entrance of the site’s original grounds be halted.
The protest was attended by representatives from several groups, including the Losheng Preservation Self-Help Association, the Youth Alliance for Losheng, the Taiwan Association for Human Rights and the Taiwan branch of the International Association for Integration, Dignity and Economic Advancement — an international organization advocating the rights of people with leprosy.
Completed in 1930, the sanatorium in Sinjhuang District (新莊) was built as an isolation facility for people with Hansen’s disease, also known as leprosy, which was believed to be highly contagious at the time.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
The facility was saved from complete demolition thanks to a movement launched by its residents 16 years ago to preserve the original sanatorium, the Youth Alliance for Losheng said.
At the time, about 400 residents took to the streets to protest plans for demolition, it said, adding that about 100 resident remain today.
Following the passage of the Act of Human Rights Protection and Compensation for Hansen’s Disease Patients (漢生病病患人權保障及補償條例) in 2008, the government approved a budget of NT$1.07 billion (US$35.68 million at the current exchange rate) for the reconstruction of the sanatorium, the alliance said.
However, the government did not engage in any real communication with sanatorium residents when planning the project, it said.
It criticized a spiral ramp designed to lead up to the 9m-high overpass.
The ramp, which would twist through 630 degrees, would be inaccessible by sanatorium residents, most of whom have disabilities, it said.
The proposed design would also damage the appearance of the historical site, it added.
The groups accused the authorities of contravening the Environmental Impact Assessment Act (環境影響評估法), saying that construction had begun prior to the completion of an assessment.
Chang Yun-ming (張雲明), deputy chairwoman of the self-help association, said that in addition to the lack of an environmental impact assessment report, construction on the overpass began without the residents’ knowledge.
While there would be an elevator to take people up to the overpass, Chang raised doubts as to whether the residents, most of whom are in their 80s, would be able to operate it.
Tsai Ya-ying (蔡雅瀅), a lawyer affiliated with the Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association, said a group of 13 individuals and organizations on March 31 notified the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) in writing, saying that the development project has contravened the Environmental Impact Assessment Act.
Under the act, if the competent authority — the EPA — fails to enforce the act within 60 days of receiving a written notification from victims or public interest groups, they may file a lawsuit against it.
Tsai said the group would later yesterday file a lawsuit with the Taipei High Administrative Court.
Development of the Mass Rapid Transit system has also caused the area around the sanatorium, which is on a hillside, to become unstable, she said.
Moving forward with the development plan for the sanatorium without going through proper environmental impact assessment procedures and addressing safety concerns could pose a risk to the residents and other structures in the area, she added.
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
LIKE-MINDED COUNTRIES: Despite the threats from outside, Taiwan and Lithuania thrived and developed their economies, former president Tsai Ing-wen said Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Saturday thanked Lithuania for its support of Taiwan, saying that both countries are united as partners in defending democracy. Speaking at a reception organized by the Lithuania-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group welcoming her on her first visit to the Baltic state, Tsai said that while she was president from 2016 to last year, many Lithuanian “friends” visited Taiwan. “And I told myself I have to be here. I am very happy that I am here, a wonderful country and wonderful people,” Tsai said. Taiwan and Lithuania are in similar situations as both are neighbors to authoritarian countries, she
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is to visit the UK during her ongoing European trip, which originally included only Lithuania and Denmark, her office said today. Tsai departed Taiwan for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark, marking her second visit to the continent since her two-term presidency ended in May last year. Her office issued a statement today saying that Tsai would also visit the UK "for a few days," during which she is to meet with UK politicians and Taiwanese professionals, and visit academic and research institutions. Following Tsai's stop in Denmark, she is to visit the