Cheng Yen
The Foundation established its first Tzu Chi Hospital in Hualien in 1986. A 600-bed general hospital had been planned in 1979 to service the impoverished eastern coast of Taiwan. A primary concern for Cheng Yen was that the area was isolated and the people in the area were cut off from aid during disasters. Despite setbacks both in funding for the hospital and finding an acceptable site. Ground was broken on the site eventually chosen on 5 February 1983 at a ceremony officiated by then Provincial Governor (later President) Lee Teng-Hui. However, two weeks after ground was broken, Cheng Yen received a notice from the military telling her that the property was needed by the military and that construction would have to stop.