In 2002, Taiwan’s Council for Cultural Affairs selected the first 11 sites that could be potential candidates for the UNESCO World Heritage program, from which Taiwan is still excluded. In 2009, Lo-Sheng Leprosy Sanatorium was added to the list as the only human rights site. According to the council’s website, Lo-Sheng was selected because of the role the institution has played in political, medical, public health, and human rights developments since 1930.

 

  Another acknowledgement of the value of Lo-Sheng comes from the International Coalition of Historical Sites of Exclusion and Resistance. One of its projects gathered together people who lived in leprosy colonies, heritage experts, and human rights representatives in Brazil, Colombia, Japan, South Africa, Taiwan, and the United States to establish a cultural heritage network. Associated with the World Forum on Hansen’s Disease, the organization’s goals include building awareness of leprosy heritage sites worldwide and promoting Hansen’s disease sites as world heritage sites. Twenty sites are recognised by the coalition, including Lo-Sheng Sanatorium. Because Taiwan is not a member of United Nations and cannot submit candidates for consideration as UNESCO World Heritage sites, this activism is very important for both Lo-Sheng and for Taiwan.