The Home-Protecting Movement of Hansen’s Disease Patients in Taiwan
Date Issued
2007
Date
2007
Author(s)
Jhong, Sheng-Shong
DOI
zh-TW
Abstract
Lo–Sheng (which means Happy - Life) Leprosarium is the only official Leprosy quarantine hospital in Taiwan. It is founded on 1930, by the time Taiwan was still under Japanese–Occupying period. Japanese authority over evaluated the infection power of leprosy, so that they exaggerated the horror of leprosy while promoting this compulsory quarantine policy. They sent police to rescue patients, educated people to prosecute lepers by that time. Due to this kind of embarrassing and frustrating experience, most of the patients in Lo-Sheng dare not to leave the leprosarium even though the compulsory quarantine policy was ended on 1962.
Without having any communication with Lo–Sheng patients, MRT Bureau picked this place as maintenance and storage factory for MRT trucks on 1994. In order to solve the coming deconstruction plan for the leprosarium, Department of Health promised to offer Lo-Sheng patients some low buildings for them to stay for the rest of their lives, but this promise was broken on 2002 when Lo-Sheng managing authority declared to build two 8-floor-building. These two building was titled as Hue-Long “Hospital”, only higher parts of the back building is opened for Lo-Sheng patients, and other parts are to serve community as a public hospital. Without any communication and notification, Lo-Sheng patients didn’t know this transit in advance at all.
2004, students from different medical schools held a research camp in Lo-Sheng Leprosarium. After realizing the willing of Lo-Sheng patients to stay in the old environment, these students founded “The Youth Union for Hansen’s Disease Rights”to help patients to organize protests. Through emphasizing on human rights and historical sites, these patients, with the company of students, are now fighting to preserve their home.
This research begins with the concepts of Cognitive Liberation and Consensus Mobilization, which are two important concepts in analyzing social movement. I aimed to answer two questions: (1) why these leprosy patients dare to against their authority and choose to rebel; (2) in what way, and how do these students interact with patients so that they can gather resources and persuade patients to rebel.
My writing strategy is to write a report, not a research paper so that I can let average people realize what is the real consequence of Lo-Sheng movement.
Subjects
樂生
痲瘋病
漢生病
認知解放
共識動員
Lo-Sheng
Leprosy
Hansen’s Disease
Social Movement
Cognitive Liberation
Consensus Mobilization
SDGs
Type
other