A reunion event and screening of my Taiwan public television produced documentary Joyful Life / 樂生 (2006) was held at the site of production and the subject — residents’ perspective on their default home and pending excavation — to inaugurate the recent renovations at the Losheng sanatorium. The occasion was bittersweet as we remember those who have passed on, and as we support the remaining residents and their families move forward with their vision of Losheng’s present and future.
Uncle Tang Shang-Ming reads his poem…
我以希望為圓心
I use hope as the center of this circle
竟畫出段段失望的短弧
I draw a hopeless fragmented connection around the orbit
像支支厲鏃
Each like arrowheads
直刺我心
Stabs directly into my heart
我瘋狂的嘶喊著
I scream violently
向著灰色的世紀
Towards this disheartened century
我誓畫一個理想的圓
I commit to draw an ideal circle
理想的圓圈
…an ideal circle
將這個世界圍起來
To enclose this world
密密的圍起來
To tightly enclose it.
Four of us together again (above), from the early days of securing production funds at Public Television in 2006 (below).
It’s a miracle that some buildings, like this one 蓬萊舍, still stands. Originally, the government was going to excavate the entire sanatorium complex, but the residents, students, civil society volunteers, cultural workers, scholars, lawyers, and international organizations came together and fought hard to keep 40%. The questions remain: What should the remaining buildings be used for? What should they symbolize? What should they represent as historical sites?
As Hsing-Wen Chang writes in her 2025 essay “An Island within the Island: Twenty Years of the Losheng (Happy Life) Movement”: “One could perhaps say that the driving force of the movement is a wish to restore the lost ‘happy life’ (or losheng) to the residents, who are at the last stages of their lives. This wish remains unrealized, and the battle goes on” (Verge: Studies in Global Asias, 11:1, 9).
(Photos by 許哲睿, Tosh Tanaka, Anita Chang)
《樂生》回樂生 朋來聚蓬萊530端午團圓活動
《樂生》（2006）是由台裔美籍導演張文馨、台藝大學生、及文化工作者共同完成的紀錄片。
二十年前，他們在迫遷在即的夏天來到樂生。公視紀錄觀點的網站上，文馨導演這樣描述這部影片的實驗性：「這部紀錄片的獨特之處，在於透過居民自己的攝錄，並以較貼近生活紀實和難以預期的對話，忠實呈現整個搬遷事態的變化，運用電影手法來呈現樂生院的故事。在這個即將消失的歷史記憶空間，我們試圖以院民透過他們自己的攝錄與訪談，來呈現『樂生療養院』的過去、現在及未來。」
二十年後，我們再次邀請文馨導演、當年參與紀錄片製作的朋友們，以及關心樂生的學者，回到蓬萊舍共聚，透過回看《樂生》，思考樂生的過去、現在與未來。
「530」，對樂生來說是深具意義的日子。2007年，在前行政院長蘇貞昌的承諾下，行政院公共工程委員會通過民間團體並不支持的「保留40棟、拆遷重組9棟」的「530方案」。今日，硬體工程大致完成，正是樂生是否能真正長成尊重弱勢、實踐民主與文化創造的「樂生活文化聚落」的關鍵時刻。
由樂青與自救會共組的「國際愛地芽協會台灣分會」持續擴大連結監督政府。我們選擇在這一天以導覽活動、《樂生》紀錄片放映與座談，邀請舊雨新知前來樂生重聚，與阿公阿嬤一同慶祝端午節。
Joyful Life Returns to Losheng: Friends Gather in Penglai for the May 30th Dragon Boat Festival Reunion
Joyful Life (2006) is a documentary filmed by Taiwanese-American director Anita Chang, students from the National Taiwan University of Arts, and cultural workers.
Twenty years ago, they arrived in Losheng during the summer of impending relocation. On the Public Television Service’s Documentary Viewpoint website, Director Chang describes the film’s experimental nature: “This documentary is unique in that it faithfully depicts the dynamics of the relocation through residents’ own footage, using realistic, unpredictable dialogue, and using cinematic techniques to tell the story of Losheng Nursing Home. In this fading historical memory, we attempt to use residents’ own footage and interviews to present the past, present, and future of Losheng Nursing Home.”
Twenty years later, we once again invited Director Chang, friends who participated in the documentary, and scholars who care about Losheng to return to Penglai House to revisit Joyful Life and reflect on Losheng’s past, present, and future.
“May 30th” is a deeply meaningful day for Losheng. In 2007, under the promise of former Premier Su Tseng-chang, the Executive Yuan Public Works Commission approved the “530 Plan,” which was not supported by civil society groups. The plan called for retaining 40 buildings and demolishing and reconstructing 9. Today, with the substantial completion of the hardware construction, it is a crucial moment for Losheng to truly become a “joyful living and cultural community” that respects the disadvantaged, practices democracy, and fosters cultural creativity.
The International IDEA Association Taiwan Chapter, jointly established by Losheng Youth and self-help groups, continues to expand its connections and oversight of the government. We have chosen this day to invite old and new friends to Losheng to reunite and celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival with our grandparents through guided tours, a screening of the documentary Joyful Life and a discussion.
The screening was also an opportunity to honor those who have passed on – my student Guan-Ye Chen who photographed many of the compelling scenes, and who translated and spoke Taiwanese with the residents, and Uncle Tang who was a creative and intellectual force throughout the whole filming process.
(Stills from Joyful Life)