Clashes broke out yesterday morning between police and Losheng Sanatorium activists as officers removed the protesters staging a sit-in outside a dormitory ahead of the compound’s scheduled demolition.
“[Department of Health Minister] Yeh Ching-chuan [葉金川], come talk to us,” around 200 protesters shouted repeatedly as they linked arms outside the Joan of Arc Hall, one of the compound’s dormitories.
The demonstrators started gathering late on Tuesday night after hearing that a partial demolition of the sanatorium would begin at 7:30am yesterday.
PHOTO: WANG YI-SUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
The sanatorium, completed in 1930 during the Japanese colonial period, was once used to isolate people with Hansen’s disease — also known as leprosy.
A campaign to save the complex in Sinjhuang City (新莊), Taipei County, started a few years ago when the location was selected as the site for a Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) maintenance depot.
Joan of Arc Hall is one of the oldest buildings on the compound and was used to house single women. The hall was to be one of the first buildings to be torn down yesterday. It was unclear whether the demolition took place, as reporters were later blocked from the area.
As head of the department in charge of managing the sanatorium, Yeh has the authority to register Losheng as an historic site with the Council for Cultural Affairs, according to the Cultural Assets Protection Act (文化資產保護法).
Upon receiving the report, the council would be required to launch a review process, during which the sanatorium could be protected as a “temporary historic site.”
However, Yeh did not appear to talk to the protesters. Instead, more than 500 police officers, including SWAT team members, arrived.
“We are here on official duty, and you are in the way. If you do not leave within 10 minutes, we will have to remove you by force,” Sinjhuang Precinct Chief Hsu Yung-sheng (?? said through a loudspeaker.
The protesters ignored the warning and continued their chants.
After a 20-minute standoff, Hsu ordered the officers to remove the demonstrators and the situation deteriorated.
“Don’t you touch me,” protesters were heard shouting at police.
“Stay calm. You shouldn’t be here. You should stay home and study,” Hsu told the protesters, most of whom seemed to be high school or university students.
The police removed the protesters after more than an hour and proceeded to break into the barricaded Joan of Arc Hall.
Losheng resident Lan Tsai-yun (藍彩雲) and a few other protesters had locked themselves inside and blocked the doors and hallway with furniture.
The police broke the door with a saw and escorted the remaining people out.
“I didn’t want to come live here, I was brought here by force when I was little,” Lan said, crying. “I’ve lived here for more than 50 years — much longer than I was at home.Where am I supposed to go now that you’re forcing me to leave?”
“Leprosy has damaged our bodies, but this government has a damaged heart,” Chen Chai-tien (陳再添), another Losheng resident said.
Hydraulic shovels moved in after the area was cleared to proceed with the demolition.
Asked for comment on the issue, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday that Losheng was under review to determine whether it qualified as an historical site. Before a decision had been reached, the demolition should not proceed, Tsai said.
The former DPP government came up with a proposal last May to preserve 39 of the buildings, while promising to reconstruct the 10 that would be torn down, Tsai said, adding that the party still supported that solution.
Tsai said President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) had promised to preserve Losheng during his election campaign, but had now broken his promise.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY RICH CHANG
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College