Solidarité Internationale pour la Défense de Lo-sheng- 楽生院を救え！国際連帯 - 搶救樂生國際鬥陣

By Hermia Lin

Taiwan News, Staff Reporter
Page 3
2007-04-11 01:21 AM


Members of the academic circle yesterday called on the Executive Yuan to preserve the Losheng Sanatorium (樂生療養院), which they consider a historical treasure, and criticized politicians for stirring up tensions between Sinjhuang residents and those suffering from leprosy.

A total of 183 scholars from across Taiwan jointly ran a half-page advertisement in local newspapers yesterday, demanding the Executive Yuan name the sanatorium as a historical site, and openly review the policy proposed by the Council for Cultural Affairs that said preserving 90 percent of the sanatorium would not bring adverse impacts nor delay the Sinjhuang MRT construciton in Taipei County. The current Sinjhuang MRT line route mapped out by the Department of Rapid Transit Systems under the Taipei City Government will forcibly take away nearly 60 percent of the 77-year-old sanatorium's land.

Kuang Chung-hsiang, a media professor at Shih Hsin University, said at yesterday's press conference that the controversy generated from the demolition of the sanatorium is a clear example of Taiwan's politicians "shifting blame onto each other."

Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said last month that he will dispatch experts from different agencies to figure out a solution that preserves as much of the sanatorium as possible while minimizing the impact done to the MRT construction, Kuang said, "but so far there is no substantial action being taken."

Su has said it takes two months to finalize the policy.

On the other hand, Kuang said that Taipei County Magistrate Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋) has constantly warned that the county government will demolish the sanatorium if it does not receive the Executive Yuan's final decision by April 16.

"Several politicians are taking advantage of the long-existing traffic jam in the Sinjhuang area and are forcing people to support the construction of the MRT project," Kuang said.

Fan Yen-chiou, a history professor at National Taiwan Normal University, echoed Kuang's view and said that the MRT route planned by the DORTS explicitly demonstrated the authority's hegemony and the opaqueness of engineering technology, which Fan argued should be cross-examined by the public.

She added that the faulty decision made by the government originated from their lack of understanding Taiwan's history and culture.

"The root of the Losheng controversy is the decision-makers' indifference and alienation toward Taiwan's history, culture, medical treatment, and public health," said Fan.

Professors attending yesterday's conference urged related agencies to hold a public debate on the construction plans of the Sinjhuang MRT line to convince the public that the 90-percent policy proposed by the CCA is really not executable.

Advocates who support the preservation of the sanatorium will launch a march at 1:30 p.m. this Sunday.