Some people see medicine as a career. 徐超斌 (Dr. Chao-Bin Hsu) sees it as a calling.
Dr. Hsu vowed to become a doctor after losing his sister, who couldn’t reach a hospital in time. That promise eventually brought him back in 2002, leaving his post as an ER doctor at Chimei Hospital (奇美醫院) to serve his hometown in Taitung’s Tuban Tribe.
Locals call him “superman doctor” as he worked 16 hours a day, drove over 1000 kilometers, like circling Taiwan, each week on remote South-Link (南迴), to deliver care and nurture hope for patients in rural communities with scarce resources.
He calls himself a “crazy fool” (瘋狂的笨蛋) for choosing the hardest path — low balance in bank, a stroke at age 39 due to long-time overwork leaving him a handicapped arm and lag, and cancer recurred three times. But in his words:
“Love is not the direction we are going, but the place we start from.”
That spirit of love — anchored in community and compassion — drives his work.
Impact So Far
- Healthcare
Dr. Hsu dreamed of building a full South-Link Hospital, but he quickly realized that in aging, shrinking communities, a large hospital would struggle to survive — and people could not wait years for beds and buildings. So he and his team adapted with more flexible, sustainable models:- 2010: Founded The Association of South-Link Health Care Promotion for Taitung County (abbreviation: South-Link Association), starting with home care services and Ark Classroom. Over time, this grew to include culture stations, Happy Bus, mobile medicare, scholarships, emergency assistance, and even social enterprises like Paqeljing.
- 2012: Started South-Link Medical Foundation preparatory office to raise funds for healthcare, education, and community projects.
- 2013: Launched the Daren Happy Bus 「達仁鄉幸褔巴士」, upgraded in later years to better connect villagers to healthcare, education, and daily life.
- 2019: Established South-Link Medical Foundation
- 2021: Opened the South-Link Home Nursing Service「南迴基金會附設居家護理所」.
- 2023: Opened the South-Link Clinic + mobile medicare, bringing doctors and nurses directly to immobile patients in villages.
- Education
- Ark Classroom (方舟教室): Since 2011, offering after-school support, meals, and creative education in 6 classrooms; it bridges the gaps in single-parent and grandparent-led families and helps children build confidence that extends beyond academics. Teachers say their greatest comfort is parents’ recognition, and their joy is watching once-shy children gain confidence through dance, art, and learning.
- Cultivating talents and partnership: Signed an Memorandum of Understanding on Industry-Academia Cooperation with Taitung University to train local caregivers in elder care and rural medicine. Medical students from Taipei Medical University and Taiwan University College of Medicine along with service groups regularly join for free clinics, home visits, and camps with children. These exchanges not only heal but also inspire young people to see rural care as meaningful work.
Paqeljing Community Meal
- Opportunity
- Paqeljing (捌個零) social enterprise: “Paqeljing” means mutual help in Paiwan. It combines sustainable farming, food safety, and cultural events like markets and harvest festivals, blending traditional foodways with modern entrepreneurship.
- Promoting local businesses: e.g. Kita market / clubhouse — “Kita” means us (inclusive) in Paiwan and Kacalisian a caucau (Southern tribe culture festival 南方草草節).
Through these efforts, the community has shifted from suspicion to trust, from passive to proactive. Elders once skeptical now invite doctors back and bring neighbors along. Health is no longer distant, hearts are touched and connecting, and hope emerges.
What Makes Him Special
- Love and Resilience
2013 was a dark year for Dr. Hsu after he over-achieved 1st year fund-raising target for South-Link hospital but due to regulation, it was “illegal” and he had to return all the donation. He was very frustrated but when he thought of so many people who cared about South-Link residents including a fruit farmer who drove from Pingtung to Taitung to hand him his hard-earned NT 20,000. “How could I give up?” he persisted. - Redefining Success
For him and his team, success is not measured in buildings or money, but in lives and dignity: that South-Link residents feel seen and cared for. Every trust built, every elder managing health on their own, every child smiling with confidence — that is their true metric. - Health and Culture Co-Thriving
They envision South-Link as a place where health, education, cultural heritage, and community creation thrive together as one ecosystem.
Recommended Read & Cultural Innovators
Dr. Hsu believes medicine and culture are inseparable: both heal, both root people in meaning. South-Link Foundation team recommends cultural innovators:
- Weiguang Zhang of Sapari Cultural Studio (張威光, 撒巴里文化藝術工作室) — son of national treasure sculptor Sapari (朱財寶). By returning to his father’s village and carving again, he blends traditional Paiwan woodcraft with modern design, carrying forward a heritage of resilience.
- The Shaman’s Daughter, Mamauwan Pao Hui-Ling《祖靈的女兒》排灣族首席女巫包惠玲 — a book tracing the journey of a Paiwan shaman, weaving together healing, spirituality, and cultural preservation.
These stories echo Dr. Xu’s philosophy: inheriting the past and ushering in the future, redefining value. Dr. Hsu reminds us that healing takes many forms — medicine, art, and spirituality — and they create resilient communities.
What’s Challenging — and What’s Next
The challenges are real — aging populations, youth outmigration, and limited resources. Yet each challenge is also an opportunity to think differently and act creatively, combining health, education, cultural heritage, technology, and community into one ecosystem.
South-Link Association and Foundation continue:
- Training culturally rooted caregivers through the South-Link Sustainable Academy.
- Designing more “interactive” activities, e.g. South-Link villager days and promotions to include hands-on challenges and life-learning experiences, and expand healthcare from treatments to public health education, culture activities, and part of community life.
- Raising the youth’s cultural understanding and identity with digital multimedia innovation.
As Dr. Hsu says in the film “Bringing Light to the Invisible”:
“It’s better to split my work among ten people so it’s not as tiring. 10 people to carry the torch forward and care people around you.”
Not one hero, but a relay of many. Dr. Hsu and South-Link team continue working on a vision that rural communities can be models of innovation, prosperity, and sustainable symbiosis.
How You Can Support
- Invest in People: Call 089-239-805 or email South-Link Foundation to support scholarships and pipelines for rural medical and cultural talent.
- Strengthen the Ecosystem: Volunteer, mentor, join force with local enterprises like Paqeljing, promote artisans, or support Ark Classrooms, contact South-Link Association.
- Shift the Narrative and Mindset: Read Bringing Light to the Invisible (book) to learn more about Dr. Hsu and South-Link team. Believe in rural communities not as places of pity, but as places of possibility — and share their stories.
Dr. Hsu would rather be a spark than a lone hero — a spark that ignites hope, shine into overlooked corners, and inspires others to care for those around them.
What will you do — for South-Link, or for the people right beside you?
Pictures sources: South-Link Association, South-Link Foundation, Ark Classroom , Paqeljing Social Enterprise