油症-與毒共存 Oil Disease : Surviving Evil

Title: Oil Disease: Surviving Evil
Director: TSAI Tsung Lung

Synopsis:

In 1979, two major events broke out in Taiwan, they were two milestones that recorded the health caring and political development. The PCBs Poisoning Incident was the most drastic tragedy in the history of Taiwan’s public disaster. The Kaohsiung Incident was the turning point of Taiwan’s democracy movement. After nearly three decades, Taiwan is already one of the democracy countries in Asia. But the PCBs poisoning victims have been dramatically evaporated from the earth.

While filming this documentary, the film crew tried to locate the poisoned victims back then, the blind kids at Huei-Ming school and townspeople of the impoverished areas, and managed to interview them for the scientific truth of the PCBs poisoning incident. We were surprised by the fact that Taiwan turned out to be the copycat of the public disaster of Japan in this case, and it was avoidable in the first place. The survived victims and their second generation who have inherited the poison from birth, has been left alone to fight the Toxin of the Century which is flowing in their veins, with unswerving and strong will, they are still fighting quixotically in a never ending struggle.

◎榮獲2008年南方影展首獎
1979年，高雄發生美麗島事件； 
三十年後，當年的政治犯成為今日的政治明星。 
1979年，台中發生多氯聯苯米糠油事件； 
三十年後，當年的受害者至今仍掙扎著， 
與 毒 共 存…… 

1979年，臺灣發生了兩件具有里程碑意義的歷史事件：多氯聯苯毒油事件──環境公害史上最嚴重的悲劇；美麗島事件──黨外民主運動的重挫與轉捩點。三十年後，臺灣已成為亞洲最民主的國家之一，但在臺灣環保及公衛史上具有里程碑意義的多氯聯苯毒油事件，還有多少人記得？註定與毒共存一輩子的盲童，如今已邁入中年，他們的處境又有誰關心？那些罹患各式癌症而病故的受害者，官方又為他們做過什麼？ 

1979年，中部地區惠明學校師生及數千位居民，因為食用在回收加工過程中，遭受多氯聯苯污染的『米糠油』，導致全身長滿膿包、免疫系統及神經系統等多方面病變，並有孕婦產下死胎等不幸事件。事件之後，臺灣第一個消費者保護團體──消費者文教基金會隨即誕生，政府也成立食品衛生處及環保局，開始由專責單位來為臺灣的公共衛生及環保把關。但緊接著美麗島事件發生，這群受害者很快被大眾遺忘，至今沒有任何有系統的追蹤檔案留下。 

本片尋訪多位當年不幸中毒的惠明學校師生與窮鄉居民，探索毒油事件的科學真相，並意外發現臺灣竟然重蹈日本公害覆轍，厄運原可避免。而被遺忘的油症倖存者，大多數本就處於社經地位較低的階層，才會購買便宜的米糠油。多數惠明學校受害者本身已是盲胞，與生來即帶有餘毒的第二代受害者們，只能憑著強韌的意志力，與血液中的世紀之毒，進行唐吉軻德式的永生搏鬥……。 

影像書訪談十位當年不幸中毒的惠明學校盲生與窮鄉居民，收錄數十幅三十年前與現今的受害者歷史照片，以及四十年前日本油症、越南橘症歷史資料；為本紀錄片作更深入的探討，並為臺灣環境公害史上最嚴重的悲劇事件，留下令人怵目驚心的註解。