Atypical Taiwanese

Inside out

Once military service is completed, it's easy to look back with a hint of nostalgia, but Lin is emphatic that he would not wish to repeat the experience.

First of all, 1996 was a bad year to be entering the army, because China was lobbing missiles, albeit unarmed, into the waters around Taiwan. The genuine fear that all-out war could break out was most palpable in the military. "Since we were so fresh, we probably wouldn't have been called up for battle. But the situation gave everyone a sense that this was serious." Furthermore, regular military service has its inherent dangers as well, especially in Taiwan which has among the highest rates of death due to accidents in a peacetime army. "The army's a dangerous place." On top of that, the training, he said, is rigorous and the soldiers are often rough boys. "The country guys are tougher. And the Aborigines, they're in a league of their own." "If they're properly equipped and coordinated, the army would be a force to be reckoned with. I think they're a pretty scary group." This is what makes Lin doubly anomalous in the army. He is so soft-spoken and soft-tempered, it's hard to imagine him thrusting a bayonet into a straw dummy or screaming a wild battle cry. But that is what he did.

"I learned a lot in the army. Mostly about myself. It taught me to be realistic about my abilities. Some things you can do and some things you just can't do." He made it through, though, and now he can share horror stories from military service with every other Taiwanese man. "When Taiwanese men meet, eventually they start talking about where they spent military service. I can do that now." The person he is talking to may not expect it, but Lin can indeed produce his ID with the chop showing he has completed his military service. When he does, a connection is made that few, if any, foreign-looking people would be able to make.

"I surprise people all the time. Like when I showed my ID to the ticket seller at the Miaoli train station to get a soldier's discount. He laughed and said, `Now I've seen everything.'"