The 3rd anniversary of the Jitai Dazhi collapse case: The transformation and protection of the disaster-stricken household Zuo Yiyou

It has been the third anniversary of the Ketai Dazhi collapse case. The 52-year-old disaster-stricken household Zuo Yi has the courage to speak out for the residents on social media, which has attracted much attention. A tall man with a dark complexion, he was originally a lawyer who lived deep in an office. He was also a father who resolutely quit his job for the sake of his children and took them all over the mountains and forests of Taiwan.

Among the crowd, Zuo Yi has a strong figure and people often mistakenly think that he is a professional soldier. He clarified that he was only doing compulsory service and served as the education monitor in Chenggong Ridge.

"I was actually a nerd!" Zuo Yiyou said with a smile. He revealed that he was injured during military training, which caused long-term numbness in his left leg after he was discharged from the army, and even induced symptoms similar to ankylosing spondylitis. When he got up every morning, he felt extremely uncomfortable all over his body. After several attempts at rehabilitation without success, he decided to rely on exercise to "self-abuse" to save himself. "I swim, run, and do triathlons because as long as I don't move, my body will go numb. So I don't move because I am in good health, I move because I am not in good health. I have to move!"

In addition to his own physical condition, what really made Zuo Yiyou completely change his life trajectory was his love for his children. After graduating from Zhongxing Law, Zuo Yiyou worked in a law firm. It was not until the eldest son entered the first grade of elementary school that the teacher assessed that the child needed more parental company for some reason. After discussing with his wife, Zuo Yiyou decided to quit his job at a law firm and take care of his children full time.

"I focused on taking him up the mountains and into the sea, climbing, swimming, and surfing the waves." Zuo Yi recalled that in order to ensure the safety of taking his children for outdoor activities, he obtained a lifeguard certificate, a swimming instructor certificate, a river tracing instructor certificate, and a mountaineering instructor certificate along the way. Later, his child enrolled in Dazhi Elementary School, and he even took over the school's sports coaching job. Once asked whether he wanted to return to the legal profession, he declined and said that he had found a new value in life in the mountains and teaching.

After transforming into a river tracing and mountaineering instructor, Zuo Yiyou took his children and students into many deep mountains and secret valleys in Taiwan that few people have visited. When talking about Taiwan's landscapes, Zuo Yiyou's eyes sparkle: "I have led river trekking and mountain climbing. I think Taiwan is so beautiful! There are some valleys that few people go to, and they are really beautiful when you walk into them. In fact, they are even more beautiful than abroad!" He also often shares landscape photos and sports photos on social platforms.

After experiencing the terrifying night of witnessing the collapse of his home on September 7, 2023, the pain of both suffering from PTSD with his mother after the disaster, and the exhaustion of dealing with builders and the city government at all levels over the past three years, the mountains, forests and valleys have become his greatest source of healing. He led his family to move back to the Dazhi Veterans Village community where he lived as a child, and continued to protect his home with the care of his familiar old neighbors and the beautiful mountains and rivers of Taiwan.