Practicing the philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi, former DPP chairman Lin I-hsiung (
A week ago, Lin led members of the Association for Promoting Public Voting on the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant (核四公投促進會) for a sit-down demonstration in front of the Executive Yuan to demand that the government determine the future of the controversial plant through a plebiscite.
PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
Lin remained silent throughout the half-day activities as he joined the group on an hourly walk around the building, and he meditated when he was sitting down. He took no heed of any politicians that came to show their concern or sought to communicate with them.
The more Lin remains quiet, the more pressure the DPP feels because it was him who led the party to power, but now the former party chairman appears to be a major critical force as the party prepares for the presidential election next year.
Lin has been advocating non-violent resistance since the early 1990s. In 1994, he put the idea into practice by leading the first wave of nationwide anti-nuclear protests in September that year, which was preceded with a hunger strike.
The drive is on its third round. Since Sept. 21 last year, Lin has led activists on a 1,000km march across the country to rally support for a national referendum on the future of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant. He and his followers plan to march 20km every weekend for at least 50 weeks.
By launching the hunger strike and marching drive, Lin said he meant to "highlight the resolve of anti-nuclear activists and at the same time train the bodies and souls of the movement's campaigners."
An anti-nuclear stance is part of the DPP's party charter. Among the numerous anti-nuclear politicians, Lin wins the most respect because he is not trying to solicit votes. He regards opposing nuclear power as a political conviction and it is his life-long goal to abolish nuclear power in Taiwan, a goal which he tries to attain through physical suffering, like what is endured by an ascetic monk.
The DPP has paid a huge price on the anti-nuclear issue. In October 2000, the party made the announcement to scrap the project, in part due to Lin's insistence. But the decision quickly turned into a debacle for the DPP, which had only been in power for a few months and had a minority in the legislature. It was compelled to reverse its decision and give in to the opposition parties the following January. The same dilemma is coming back to vex the party two years later.
Lin is persistent, uncompromising and full of a sense of justice. But these qualities intensified after Lin's 6-year-old twin daughters were brutally murdered along with their grandmother on Feb. 28, 1980.
Lin's eldest daughter, Huan-chun (
The murder took place at midday in their home when Lin, then a provincial assemblyman, was arrested for participating in a human-rights rally in Kaohsiung on Dec. 10 the previous year, whereas his wife Fang Su-min (
The murderer has never been apprehended. However, Lin and many Taiwanese believe that the killings were politically motivated.
The girls and their grandmother were not buried until Lin was released from jail in 1984. Fang and the surviving daughter moved to the US to start a new life soon after the mishap. In 1985, Lin joined his family in California, setting out on a four-year voyage of learning in the US, Europe and Japan.
The time abroad was an opportunity for him to heal his sorrow and to hone his talents to serve Taiwan in the future.
But he also developed different interests, for the family tragedy had provoked him to pursue eternal values as he grew disenchanted with the transience of politics.
Since he returned to Taiwan in 1989, Lin has devoted himself to social and political reforms.
In March 1991, he founded the Chilin Foundation (慈林文教基金會), seeking to end political corruption through spiritual reform. The foundation focuses on cultivating young talents and disseminating Lin's beliefs in mercy and love.
At the time when the DPP's resolution on reform has sometimes given way to political considerations, Lin represents a moral force in the party that can not be challenged.
Lin treats issues such as the anti-nuclear movement or the need for a public referendum like a social-awakening movement. They are tools for him to carry out his conception of true democracy, which is, "the people are the master in a civil society; the strength of the people outweighs that of the government."
It will be a long way to go before he reaches his goals under Taiwan's fledgling democracy.
As he cited Robert Frost's poem The Road Not Taken the day he resigned his DPP chairmanship in May 2000, Lin said that he would always choose "the road less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."
The difference Lin insists, however, will put the DPP in a quandary.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated