With no trace of hatred or bitterness, yesterday's "birthday party" for the twin daughters of DPP Chairman and former activist Lin I-hsiung (
Remembering the joy they had brought during their six short years of life, friends of the Lin family yesterday celebrated the Feb. 2 birth date of the twin girls, Lin Liang-chin (
The day of their murder, Feb. 28, 1980 appeared to be behind the choice of location for the party -- Taipei's 228 Memorial Museum, which was established in memory of events on the same day in 1947, that led to the massacre of thousands of Taiwanese at the hands of the KMT government.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
On Feb. 28, 1980, when Lin was jailed and awaiting trial for his participation in the Kaohsiung Incident the year before, an unknown killer came to his house in an alley off Hsinyi Road (
His eldest daughter, Lin Huan-chin (
The murder, which remains unsolved, is often thought to have been politically motivated because of Lin's active role in the opposition movement.
In the early 1980s, when Taiwan's opposition movement was in full swing, the murder of Lin's twin daughters and his mother outraged Taiwanese people.
Lin's wife, Fang Su-min (
Supporters' tears, anger, and talks of revenge prevailed at her campaign rallies. Eventually, she won, a victory she attributed to those supporters who have stood by the family, offering comfort since the tragic incident.
The healing process has been slow and the Lins had felt they were not ready to come to terms with the twin girls' death for many years.
It was not until the memorial service yesterday that the couple felt ready to recall the fond memories they had of their twin daughters.
"Some of the greatest moments of my life were with my three kids," said Lin. "I loved to play and sing with them. Most of the time we did nothing special but the joy we had was more than everything."
"I have been talking to them [the twins] even after their death. And the girls have told me of nothing painful. I've felt nothing but happiness whenever talking to them," Lin said.
But, the opposition leader also spelled out his disappointment with the ills of Taiwan society and said his twin daughters were lucky to leave for heaven.
"It has been 20 years since their death but I've seen few changes in society. I think my daughters must live a happier life than those living in Taiwan," Lin said.
Huan-chin, who is living in the US, Alabama, with her American husband, is expecting her first baby in late March.
During the memorial event yesterday, a video tape was shown and words of gratitude from the only survivor of the 1980 murder thanked those who had helped her through the ordeal.
The event concluded with Lin and his wife saying thanks to the friends who had organized the service, the nannies of the twin daughters and the doctors who saved Huan-chin.
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
‘NOT ALONE’: A Taiwan Strait war would disrupt global trade routes, and could spark a worldwide crisis, so a powerful US presence is needed as a deterrence, a US senator said US Senator Deb Fischer on Thursday urged her colleagues in the US Congress to deepen Washington’s cooperation with Taiwan and other Indo-Pacific partners to contain the global security threat from China. Fischer and other lawmakers recently returned from an official trip to the Indo-Pacific region, where they toured US military bases in Hawaii and Guam, and visited leaders, including President William Lai (賴清德). The trip underscored the reality that the world is undergoing turmoil, and maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region is crucial to the security interests of the US and its partners, she said. Her visit to Taiwan demonstrated ways the
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
RSS