This past weekend, I went to a protest and awareness concert at Le Sheng 樂生 Sanatorium, an aging leper colony located on the outskirts of Taipei. The 70-year old community, created during the Japanese occupation of Taiwan, is currently in a fight with the Taipei County government to preserve their homes. In 2003, the government began tearing down the sanatorium to begin construction of a new MRT line, without the consent of the patients who have been living there since 1930. The plan was to move the remaining occupants (unsure of the #, maybe 200 or so) into a nearby hospital. A group of student volunteers, along with their professors and members of the leper community have been staging protests for over four years to preserve what is left of the community. From what I could see, less than 1/3rd of the existing buildings are left and the few remaining homes and hospitals are located up on the side of a small mountain.
I may go back again this weekend for another visit. Students from universities all over Taipei have been camped out with the lepers for weeks now and this weekend there will be another protest and concert. Apart from the horror of kicking aging citizens out of their homes of more than 70 years, another historic and beautiful neighborhood in Taiwan is in danger of disappearing. You can find old english articles and blog commentaries about the situation here and here.
0 Responses to “Leper Colony”