2 - Quarantine Landscapes of Losheng Sanatorium in Taiwan

Leprosaria were a tragic effort to quarantine leprosy patients in the early twentieth century when segregation was considered as a measure to ease the unjustified fear of contagion. Most leprosaria in East and Southeast Asia worked as the place with standard divisions: a medical facility for leprosy patients to received medical treatments, a laboratory for medical elites to conduct medical research in leprosy, and a micro-society to confine leprosy-affected people. Since the initiatives of preserving the long-forgotten history of leprosy in the 2000s, bottom-up social movements have challenged the traditional protocols of historic preservation nationally and internationally. Among cases involved in the social movements, Losheng Sanatorium in Taiwan is most vital and unsettled due to constant conflicts between activist groups and authoritarian parties.

In this article, we investigate layers of quarantine landscapes of the Losheng Sanatorium through three lines of discussion to reflect the connection between spatial configuration and disease management policies during colonial period, including medical measures, therapeutic treatments and cultural reforms. Furthermore, we explore how current preservation plan, that prioritizes the economic benefit under the influence of neoliberalism and the intellectual knowledge under the influence of international heritage laws, has impeded the heritage value of the Losheng Sanatorium and has stimulated the resistance of activist groups, including youth activists and former patients.

Co-Author 1
Chien-ying YANG, Chinese Culture University, Taiwan.