Military offers account of Lin's last day on Kinmen

The Ministry of Defense yesterday released a detailed account, for the first time in 23 years after former military captain Justin Lin (林毅夫) defected to China, on how he was found missing.

According to the report, the scenario might go like this: On a night in May 1979, troops on the frontline Kinmen island experienced their longest night as they searched the whole night for a company leader who was found missing from his unit.

The company leader was 26-year-old Captain Lin Cheng-yi (林正誼), who changed his name from Lin Cheng-yi (林正義) after joining the military.

Lin was considered to be a future star in the military because of special favors by the military leadership for choosing a military career despite having been admitted to the country's top university -- National Taiwan University.

Lin, then the leader of a company guarding the Mashan post on Kinmen, was found missing at 10:50pm, May 16, 1979, from his unit by two officers with the Kinmen command, who were on an inspection tour to the Mashan post.

The Mashan post, the nearest lookout point to China, was traditionally commanded by only carefully selected army officers with outstanding capabilities and performances. It has been known as "the country's foremost outpost." Lin was chosen to lead the post on Feb. 16, 1979, after serving for six months as the leader of another company of the 852nd brigade of the 284th division, also known as "Kinmen's East Division," the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said in a report to the legislature yesterday.

In the report, the MND described in detail how Lin was found missing and its aftermath: At 6:30pm, Lin attended a meeting at the headquarters of the battalion his company was attached to.

At 7:40pm, Lin went back to his Mashan post, watched television programs at his company's gathering hall, and left the hall at 7:50pm.

At 8:30pm, Lin's company subordinate Private First Class Tung Chin-yao (童進耀) discovered Lin not to be in his room as he prepared to report to Lin on the coming of new recruits.

At 10:50pm, Kinmen command officers Captains Hsiang Tai-ping (向太平) and Lin Wen-pin (林文彬) found Lin missing from his Mashan unit as they arrived at the unit for an inspection. The two soon mobilized the Mashan company to search for its missing leader.

At 12pm, the Kinmen command ordered an all-out islandwide search for Lin.

Over the next two hours, the local military checked to find items missing with Lin. The items included a life jacket, a belt, a canteen, a compass, a first-aid kit, the flag of Lin's company, and an unspecified amount of Lin's personal belongings.

At 2am, on May 17, the Kinmen command reported Lin missing to the army headquarters on Taiwan proper. Five days later on May 22, the 284th division was switched in emergency with the 319th division, another local division, in defense regions.

On May 26, the 284th division officially reported Lin as missing after a futile search over the preceding 10 days.

On May 17, 1980, Lin was reported by the 284th division as deceased according to a rule, which stipulates that a serviceman who has been missing for over one year should be considered dead.