中央社 (2007-04-18 12:14)




　　來自日本的佛教團體─真宗大谷派等十八日在立法院舉行「宗教界挺樂生」記者會，進行一場宗教跨國對話與幫漢生病洗刷污名。中央社記者徐肇昌攝九十六年四月十八日

轉貼自樂生在地 in solidarity 4.16.2007

15/4 皇后碼頭：聲援樂生院抵抗清拆運動放映及音樂會

攝影：柏齊

相關：

15/4 皇后碼頭更多照片
15/4 台北大遊行照片 (自chaotang「哆拉老師的又一天」)
15/4 台北大遊行照片 2 (自香港前往樂生園探訪的BoBo)
15/4 台北大遊行照片 3 (自Wen Ju)

　【台北１３日遠矢浩司】台湾のハンセン病患者らの支援弁護士団は１３日、台湾当局にハンセン病患者への謝罪や賠償、法律整備などを求める「国家賠償請求」を行った。国賠訴訟の前段措置で、２カ月以内に請求内容が実施されない場合は提訴する。

　請求の相手は、複数の行政機関。立法院（国会）にはハンセン病患者人権法の速やかな成立を、行政院衛生署（保健省に相当）には、公開謝罪と死亡患者の追悼、名誉回復が可能な合理的金銭賠償などを求めている。また、建物取り壊し問題が出ている療養施設「楽生療養院」の保存を衛生署と地元の台北県、台北市高速鉄道局に請求した。

　同日の弁護団記者会見には、ハンセン病国家賠償訴訟西日本弁護団代表だった徳田靖之弁護士（大分市）ら九州、関西の弁護士も参加。徳田弁護士は「日本、台湾、韓国でのハンセン病への偏見と差別は、かつて日本政府が行った隔離政策が元凶だ」とあいさつ。国宗直子弁護士（熊本市）も「台湾政府は、元患者らが人間として尊厳を持って生きられるようにしてほしい」と訴えた。

＝2007/04/14付 西日本新聞朝刊＝
http://www.nishinippon.co.jp/nnp/world/20070414/20070414_003.shtml
2007年04月14日00時17分

Global Voices Online

Sunday, April 15th, 2007 @ 17:32 EDT
by PipperL

As mentioned in the previous post, discussions and actions on saving Lo-Sheng Sanatorium have widely spread in Taiwan blogosphere. Now the whole event has also attracted attention from mainstream media, the public, and politicians.

Bloggers’ actions:

In addition to discussions and collaboration over their blogs, several bloggers decided to take actions in the real world.

Several bloggers walked into the sanatorium, taking a lot of pictures for those have never been in the sanatorium. As kovis said:

家和房子是不一樣的
家是心情上的認同
而房子只不過是個容身之處
所以說「家」是心之居處

Home is different from a house. Home is belonging to your heart, while a house is just a place for your body. That’s why “home” is called as the place where your heart lives.

To clearify if the reservation of 90% of the area is applicable, nooorman asked his friend who works in the Rapid Transit System, and compared all approaches proposed by the Department of Rapid Transit System (DoRT), Dr. Ke-Chiang Liu (劉可強), and Dr. Chao-Chin Yu (喻肇青). By illustrating the design (with the help of wenli’s hand-made schematics) and discussing pros and cons of each plan, he explained the proposals one by one to his readers. He also decided to turn his blog into a platform specializing in technical issues of Lo-sheng reservation.

In the mean time, HOW visited Dr. Liu, asked his opinion about the controversies among those proposals, and put voice records and a sketch of the interview on his blog. He concluded that there is still space for negotiation:

捷運局的方案與文建會的方案基本上是有討論空間的。而捷運局保存40%的方案根本上並沒有真的保存到樂生療養院，也不願意和文件會的案子進行工程技術上的討論。這個案子是很有機會找出一個具體可行的解決方案。

Basically, there is room for discussions between proposals from the DoRTS and the Council for Cultural Affairs. The problem is, the 40% reservation proposal from the DoRTS does not really reserve the major part of the Lo-sheng sanatorium, not mentioning the fact that the DoRTS isn’t willing to discuss technique details of engineering with the CCA. Otherwise, it is possible to find out an applicable solution for both sides.

The bloggers then initiated a joint action and got more 200,000 (TWD) to advertise their appeals on Appledaily news. The ad revealed information of 90% reservation, and emphasized that Hsinchuang city may also benefit from the reservation. Another joint action was also organized to make T-shirts with words “Saving Lo-sheng” on them. Benefits from selling these T-shirts will be donated to the campaign.

Macdog created a service called “Losheng Walker”, allowing users to recommend resturants and places near the sanatorium. Benla called for a meeting to talk about “what bloggers can do in the social campaign”. Representatives of “Youth Lo-Sheng Union” and other organizations, together with several bloggers and those interested in this topic, shared their thoughts for this issue.

Yao contacted the owner of the Gundam-like lantern that attracted many discussions during the Yuan-Hsiao Festival. With permission from the owner , Yao and several bloggers placed the lantern inside the sanatorium - “Gundam is protecting the Lo-Sheng”.

Public attention:

The Taiwan Public Television Service online produced a program by inviting members of the campaign, local residents and representatives from Hsinchuang city, specialists of the rapid transit system, and representatives from the administrations (including the DoRTS, the CCA, the Department of Health, the Transportation Bureau, etc.). In this show, the specialist He-Yuan Cyue (闕河淵), who is also the ex-vice director of the DoRTS, revealed that the technique issue can be resolved if the DoRTS re-evaluates their regulations. From his points of view, the schedule may even not be delayed once the 90% reservation proposal is applied. His words were then quoted and discussed in the blogosphere.

Many other organization and individuals also cosigned for the reservation, together with the calls from more than 180 scholars (they posted an ad on Chinatimes, too), medical workers, media students, and culturologists. The IDEA, which is an organization under the UN, also epressed their great concern for this issue.

On March 21, two of the possible candidates for president 2008, Mr. Xi-Kun You (游錫堃) and Mr. Frank Chang-ting Hsieh (謝長廷) claimed that they would support the reservation of the sanatorium. Two days later, the Executive Yuan Premier Mr. Tseng-Chang Su (蘇貞昌) also asked the Public Construction Commission to negotiate with the DoRTS and try to find a way to reserve the sanatorium as much as possible. So far, they have been working on it.

Debates and Different voices:

There are opposite opinions for the “Saving Lo-sheng campaign”. MOTCT posted his comments, explaining that the regulations cannot be modified, otherwise safety of the train might be compromised.

Subing expressed his observation on the so-called “Lo-sheng compaign”:

支持樂生保留的人獨缺我那群長期從事社運的朋友們，他們毫無例外的告訴我，樂生保留訴求的正當性不足，很難說服社會，作為一個專業的社會運動者，他們必須選擇戰場，他們甚至質疑現在還選擇樂生當作戰場的人，要不就是判斷出問題，不然就是別有用心。

Those who support the reservation may not include my friends who have been devoted on the social campaign for a long time. My friends told me unexceptionally that the calls for reservation are not legit enough to convince the public. As the professional social activists, they have to choose battleground. They even doubted that the people who choose the Lo-sheng issue as the battleground, either misjudge or have other purpose.

In March 31, Mr. Hsi-Wei Chou (周錫瑋), as the Taipei County Commissioner (where the sanatorium is), participated a demonstration entitled “We want MRT for our survival!”. The demonstration was staged by the local representatives of Hsinchuang. They opposed the reservation of Lo-sheng sanatorium because it may lead to the construction of the Mass Rapid Transportation (MRT) behind schedule. Mr. Chou stood on the float, asking the Executive Yuan do not postpone the schedule of the demolition:

各位鄉親，我們捷運為了樂生，我們願意等，但是已經等了三年，我們還要再等一年以上，再等下去嗎? (群眾大喊) 不要~~~~

Chou: “Dear citizens!! For the losheng sanatorium, we are willing to wait. BUT we have waited for three years!! Are we going to wait for another year? For any longer?” Crowd: ” No~~~~”

He also told the crowd that he will proceed the demolition on April 16, unless the Executive Yuan asks the government to postpone via formal documents.

In the Legislative Yuan, Mr. Chia-Fu Tsai (蔡家福) , the legislator who was elected from Hsinchuang city, obstructed the legislating procedure of “Hansen’s Disease Compensation Act”. Although the draft of the act have been proposed and negotiated during the past two years, Mr. Tsai, together with the other two ligislators, boycotted the cross-party negotiations right after they arrived. This will cause the efforts via the legislation facing a dead end before April 16.

The upcoming events:

On April 15, the day before the scheduled deadline for demolition, another demonstration will be held by more than 50 organizations in front of the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall. Protesters will voice their support for the reservation, and ask the government to cancel the order of demolition and protect human rights of the leprosy ex-patients.

Last minute update:

In April 12, the Executive Yuan Premier announced that the demolition of the Losheng Sanatorium will be postponed and the reservation of 90% is going to be considered. Later the Taipei County Commissioner confirmed the announcement and claimed that he will follow the Executive Yuan’s decision. But he also insisted that the Executive Yuan has to take the full responsibility if the construction is delayed.

The author would like to thank the GV Chinese translation team for the help with preparation for this article.

Published on Taipei Times
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2007/04/16/2003356820
Leprosy sufferers raise their hands and shout during a protest in Taipei yesterday against the government's plan to demolish the Losheng (Happy Life) Sanatorium. Thousands of activists took part in the protest.

PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, AP



Students kowtow during yesterday's protest in Taipei against the government's plan to demolish the Losheng Sanatorium.

PHOTO:CHIANG YING-YING, AP

"I do so to get a feeling of what it is like to be a disadvantaged person in a society, and to try to feel how hard life was for the elderly people [of Losheng]."
Lou Nai-chieh, a university student taking part in yesterday's protest

---

Thousands back saving Losheng Sanatorium

PRESERVE AND PROTECT: More than 100 groups took part in yesterday's demonstration, busing people in from around the country to join the rallies

By Loa Iok-sin
STAFF REPORTER, WITH AP
Monday, Apr 16, 2007, Page 1

Thousands of people took to the streets of Taipei yesterday to support preserving the Losheng (Happy Life) Sanatorium.

After speeches, musical performances and a play by individuals and groups, the crowd marched 2km from the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall to Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office where another rally followed.

Losheng is a sanatorium in Taipei County completed in 1930 under Japanese colonial rule where thousands of people with Hansen's disease, or leprosy, have been secluded for life.

Plans to tear down most of the buildings to make room for a Mass Rapid Transport (MRT) maintenance depot have sparked heated debate.

The sanatorium still houses 45 elderly lepers who refuse to move.

Last month, the Taipei County Government announced that today would be the deadline for the residents' mandatory eviction.

However, having faced tremendous public pressure, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said last Wednesday that the deadline would be postponed.

Although the premier's decision has given Losheng a temporary reprieve, the sanatorium's future is still uncertain.

"Through the march, we want to put pressure on the government on all levels ? so that Losheng's preservation can be assured," said Hsia Chu-chiu (夏鑄九), a professor of urban planning at National Taiwan University.

A UK-based construction consulting firm has proposed a plan in which 90 percent of the sanatorium's buildings can be preserved with only a few months' delay to the completion of the MRT line.

"Preserve 90 percent of Losheng -- no delay to the MRT" the crowd chanted as they marched.

At the tail end of the march was a group of about 100 "disciplinants," mostly of university students.

Four people leading the team walked while dragging metal barrels with burning coals.

Those who followed kneeled down on the street after every six steps and kowtowed.

"I do so to get a feeling of what it is like to be a disadvantaged person in a society, and to try to feel how hard life was for the elderly people [of Losheng]," said Lou Nai-chieh (樓乃潔), a university student who participated in the disciplinant team.

"I want to thank you all for holding out your hands and offering us your warm help," Chou Fu-tsu (周富子), a Losheng resident, said while kneeling down in front of the demonstrators.

More than 100 civic groups around the nation participated in the demonstration, according to Hsu Po-jen (許博任), a member of the Youth Alliance for Losheng, one of the main sponsors of yesterday's march and rally.

To bring demonstrators from outside of Taipei into the city, the sponsors organized a "Losheng bus" program in which people pooled their money to hire buses.

"There are four buses that brought us here from Kaoshiung and Pingtung," said a demonstrator surnamed Kao from Meinong (美濃), Kaohsiung County.

"We're here to join forces with others and express our opposition to a bad decision," Kao said.

TAIWAN NES 16 Apr. 2007


Hansen patients and supporters participate in a rally held on April 15, 2007, in Taipei to urge the government not to tear down the Losheng Sanatorium.
為保存台北縣新莊樂生療養院，「全台鬥陣挺樂生」大遊行四月十五日在台北市舉行，漢生病友與支持者一同走上街頭，爭取保留樂生療養院。



Hansen patients and supporters participate in a rally held on April 15, 2007, in Taipei to urge the government not to tear down the Losheng Sanatorium.
為保存台北縣新莊樂生療養院，「全台鬥陣挺樂生」大遊行四月十五日在台北市舉行，漢生病友與支持者一同走上街頭，爭取保留樂生療養院。

Activists march to save Losheng

By Hermia Lin
Taiwan News, Staff Reporter

An estimated 5,000 advocates and students gathered and marched in Taipei City yesterday to demand more understanding and human rights toward patients of the Losheng Sanatorium (樂生療養院).

With yellow banners tied to their foreheads or elbows that read "Save Losheng; fight against eviction," thousands of activists, including more than 100 civil groups that devote themselves to helping disadvantaged minorities, shook the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, where the march started, with a burst of vitality and righteousness that the compound has seldom felt before.

One of the sponsor organizations, the Youth Union for Lepers Rights, told reporters that all of the 5,000 banners were distributed to participants of the march.

Acknowledging fault

Campaign leaders said the purpose of the march was to call on the ruling government to acknowledge its faulty policy in selecting the 77-year-old sanatorium in Sinjhuang, Taipei County as the site to construct power plants as part of the Sinjhuang MRT project.

"Patients suffering from leprosy have long been stigmatized in our society due to a lack of understanding toward the low-infectious disease.

The government should restore patients' reputations and prevent them from being evicted - or to at least guarantee them their living rights," the campaign said in a statement.

It added that the government should name the sanatorium as a historical relic, and make the sanatorium a human rights park that serves the interests of the patients' life, social education, and local development.

More than 15 leprosy patients joined the march by riding on electric motor bikes.

Another five patients were on a flat truck waving to the crowds. "Thank you everyone. We do not feel alone anymore," Li Tien-pei, one of the leprosy patients said.

Over 100 paraders marched on their knees all the way to Ketagalan Boulevard, dragging gasoline cans that contained burning coals to demonstrate their will and resolution to safeguard the sanatorium.

They said that their kneeling down is not to beg for sympathy, but rather an attempt to understand the hardships that the patients have lived with all their lives. "We use a position that is closest to the earth to reflect how a society should treat the existence of each individual," they added.

Dancers from the Tsai Jui-yeh Dance Foundation covered themselves in white fabric and jumped into gasoline cans to mimic the pain of leprosy patients who cannot move freely.

Friday Wu, one of the guardians of the sanatorium, told Taiwan News that the reason so many people were expected at the march is because they are still worried that the sanatorium would be demolished.

"Taipei County Magistrate Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋) Saturday paid a visit to the sanatorium to urge the patients to relocate to another hospital. He even said 'let all of the leprosy patients cast votes on whether to stay or not.' Su's empty promise cannot stop Chou from trying to demolish the sanatorium," Wu said, adding that politicians attempting to make fools of people is shameful.

Premier's promise

Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said last week that the government will preserve as much of the sanatorium as possible while minimizing the impact on the MRT project. Su said that the Cabinet will help preserve as much as 90 percent of the compound.

The previous plan mapped out by the Department of Rapid Transit Systems under the Taipei City Government called for demolishing 60 percent of the site.

Liu Hsiao-shen, a junior high school teacher from Meinung in Kaohsiung County, said that the sanatorium controversy is a clear example of a majority using violence to suppress a minority.

Liu added that he and other 40 southerners departed from Meihung at 5:30 a.m. yesterday morning to take part in the rally.

Activists marched along Zhongshan South Road in downtown Taipei, passing through the Legislative Yuan and stopped on Ketagalan Boulevard. The march ended at near 6 p.m. yesterday evening with all of the participants of the march bowing down to the leprosy patients.

original:

3 days ago on my way back home I saw a student with mask standing on the police guard stand in the MRT Taipei Main Station trying to show his opinion on the recent Losheng issue happened in Taiwan. I took some pictures of him:


Taiwanese student who wants to protect the Losheng house / 捍衛樂生療養院的學生


The student stands on the police guard stand in the MRT Taipei Main Station with mask and a sign.


Taiwanese student who wants to protect the Losheng house / 捍衛樂生療養院的學生


I think he looks great! :)

Here is the picture of the sign:




On the sign it says "Protect Losheng, Keep it as a whole"

If you want to know what it means on the sign, clicks on the picture for more details.

沖縄タイムス ２００７年４月１３日（金）　朝刊　３０面
http://www.okinawatimes.co.jp/day/200704131300_06.html

　【宮古島】宮古島市平良の国立療養所宮古南静園で開かれている全国ハンセン病療養所入所者協議会（全療協、宮里光雄会長）の全国支部長会議は最終日の十二日、医療や看護の充実など重点事項を承認し、三日間の日程を終えた。今会議の最大の懸案である「ハンセン病問題基本法」（仮称）の制定運動については、各療養所の将来の在り方を考える際に立法化は不可欠との認識で一致。六月上旬に東京で開かれる臨時支部長会議で正式に組織決定する方針だ。

　全療協の神美知宏事務局長は会議後の会見で、入所者の減少や高齢化、今後の医療に不安を抱える各施設の現状を指摘。基本法制定について「国は将来構想の青写真を示さず無責任な姿勢だが、入所者が安心して生涯を過ごせるよう立法化を全療協の最後の運動と位置付けたい」と語った。

　会議では宮里会長や神事務局長ら現在の役員体制が二〇〇八年六月以降の二年間留任することも決定。現体制の期間中に市民や支援団体、弁護団などを巻き込んだ形で立法化運動を図りたい考えを確認した。

　全療協は一九五一年の設立時に会員は約一万二千人いたが、二〇〇七年二月現在で約二千九百人まで減少。高齢化も進んでおり十年後には千人を割り込むと推定している。入所者が減少する中、全療協は医療の質の確保や施設の在り方など将来構想の策定を急いでいる。

蘇貞昌首相は、4月11日楽生院入所者代表・専門家・NGO・学生代表らと会見し、9日に行われた公共工程委員会主任委員呉沢成によるヒアリングに基づき、楽生院保存を支持する専門家・学識経験者の意見を聞いた結果、90％保存案が技術的には大きな問題がないという立場を理解し、「地下鉄の工期に影響がない範囲」で「90％保存案の実現に向けて最大限の努力をする」と表明しました。しかし、台北市捷運工程局・台北県政府は未だ積極的な対応を行っていません。



今回は、当面の危機を回避したといえますが、まだ状況の推移を見守ってゆく必要があるといえます。こうしたことから4月15日の大規模デモは予定通り開催されます。

八重山毎日新聞 (2007-04-12 10:18:43)

台湾のハンセン病療養施設「楽生療養院」で、沖縄出身の入所者について証言する鄭天正さん＝5日午後、台湾・台北県新荘市

　【台湾・台北県新荘市で松田良孝記者】日本統治下の1930（昭和5）年に建てられたハンセン病療養施設「楽生療養院」が鉄道工事に伴って取り壊されるのに対して、立ち退きを求められている入所者の一部が反対しており、台湾で社会問題化している。「楽生療養院」は、沖縄出身のハンセン病患者も足跡を残す施設。台湾人入所者はそのうちの1人の男性について「モリでカジキを打つ話をしてくれた」と証言した。

　証言したのは、張文賓さん（78）と鄭天正さん（76）。鄭さんは、日本統治時代に建てられた施設で生活を続けている。
　2人の証言によると、この男性患者は、戦地から沖縄に復員したあと、漁業指導のために台湾北部にある基隆市の和平島で生活していた時に感染が分かり、1950年代前半（昭和20年代後半）に入所したようだ。
　和平島は「社寮島」と呼ばれていた日本統治時代から沖縄出身の漁業者が集落をつくっていたことで知られる。

　鄭さんは、両手を広げて大きく動かしながら、「（沖縄出身の男性は）モリでカジキを打つ話をしてくれた」と証言。漁船の船首から台を長く伸ばした「突き船」によるカジキ漁のようだ。
　当時、楽生療養院の入所者は生活に困窮。鄭さんや張さんは、肉や毛皮を取るためのウサギを飼い、生活費を稼いでいた。男性も一緒にウサギを飼っていたという。
　鄭さんは「（男性は）台湾語は聞いて分かるし、話すのも片言以上だった」、「ほかの入所者の散髪もする」とも述べ、男性はほかの入所者になじんで療養生活を送っていたようだ。
　その後、男性は、沖縄から迎えに来た家族とともに楽生療養院を去り、沖縄で亡くなったという。