Handicapped writer and social activist Liu Hsia (劉俠), who was hospitalized on Friday for injuries allegedly afflicted by her resident Indonesian caregiver, died of heart failure yesterday morning at the age of 61.
Though mourning her sudden death, Liu's family members said they had no intention of pressing a lawsuit against the maid, identified as Vinarsih, who doctors said suffers from mental problems.
TAIPEI TIMES FILE PHOTO
Liu, founder of the Eden Social Welfare Foundation and author of over 40 books and articles, had been confined to a wheelchair after a rare disease called atrophic arthritis struck when she was 12.
PHOTO: CNA
A sanguine and pious Christian, Liu did not allow the disease, which damaged nearly 90 percent of her joints and caused her tremendous suffering during her lifetime, to stop her from helping disadvantaged groups.
"Except love, I have nothing," she often told colleagues at Eden, a charity group dedicated to promoting welfare for physically challenged people.
The 33-year-old maid reportedly burst into Liu Hsia's bedroom in the small hours of Friday in a frenetic bid to drag her employer from the bed onto the floor. The maid told police that nightmares of earthquakes was the cause of her behavior.
Chang Teh-ming (
According to her Liu Kan (劉侃), Liu said before being sent to the hospital she felt cold and suspected it might be a sign from God to move heavenward.
While alive, Liu Hsia, also known by her pen name Hsing Lin-tsu (
Huang Yu-yang (
Most of Liu's works share the theme of encouraging people to surmount life's adversities. Elementary and junior high schools have used her articles in their Mandarin-language textbooks.
In 1980, Liu was chosen as one of the country's 10 most outstanding women. She used the NT$200,000 prize money to establish the Eden foundation.
"Though physically weak, Liu was strong in every other way," said Sun Yueh (
Sun remembered visiting Liu in the wake of Typhoon Nari, which flooded out hundreds of thousands of apartments including Eden's office. Unruffled, Liu told Sun the flood gave her the opportunity to consider moving to another location.
In 1982, Liu won a National Literature and Art Award. Her publisher Tsai Wen-fu (
"Days ago, editors and I just discussed how to revise the piece," he said. "Now it is too late to make amendments."
Liu's lifelong efforts to ease the plight of disadvantaged groups led President Chen Shui-bian (
Despite a salary as high as that of a Cabinet minister, she once turned down Chen's reappointment the next May, saying she made no contribution during her first one-year term. Only after the president promised to consult her more frequently did Liu agree to stay on.
At Eden's urguing, the government also agreed to reconsider the proposed national pension program to make it more favorable for the poor and handicapped.
Pastor Chou Lien-hua (
Doctors said patients of atrophic arthritis seldom live longer than 65. Liu's health deteriorated in the last decade during which she underwent several surgeries on her lungs and other organs.
"While alive, she had to endure acute pain every day," Chou said. "But she struggled to lead a meaningful life. Now she may rest in eternal peace."
In 1988 during a protest with fellow Eden members in front of the Executive Yuan, Liu threw her wheelchair at the feet of then Premier Yu Kuo-hwa (
Her actions helped bring about drastic improvements in wheelchair access across the country.
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