After 23 years living abroad following a murderous attack which bereaved her of her twin sisters and grandmother in one of the darkest times of Taiwan's White Terror period, Judy Linton (林奐均) recently released a self-composed music album as an ode to her family and religious beliefs. The album has helped her come to terms with her bitterness and to find the ability to forgive the unknown murderer.
It's been a long and difficult time since Feb. 28, 1980, the day when the 9-year old Linton, the eldest daughter of former chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Lin I-hsiung (
The infamous incident came to be known as "the Lin Family Murder." The motives were believed to be political, as Linton's father, then a democratic movement leader, challenged the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) regime and had been jailed for his participation in the 1979 Kaohsiung Incident, a human rights rally.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Still recovering from her severe injuries, the young Linton left for the US in 1981 with her mother to escape persecution by the KMT.
She says her road to recovery was made easier by simply getting away from her motherland. Hatred and vengeance hardened the heart of the young Linton, who vowed to shed no more tears and wished that one day she could avenge her lost family members.
But Linton's life took an unexpected turn while she was in senior high school. She became involved with Christianity, and through reading the Bible gained the ability to find meaning in her life and unload the burden she had carried.
Linton believes God has worked on her bitter heart and allowed her to let go of the hatred and sorrow.
"My heart was softened through God's love," Linton said.
Although she still carries the scars on her body left by the stab wounds, Linton said she doesn't mind the marks anymore, as she has, with the passage of time, gained confidence through her religious beliefs and learned to forgive the attacker.
Linton, whose maiden name is Lin Huan-chun (
She entered Indiana University in 1990 and later earned a masters degree in teaching English as a second language from Columbia University's Teacher's College in 1995.
Her latest music album, You Are My Most Beloved, is an ode to her family and God with songs composed in pop style.
"I really want people to know what's happened to me since 23 years ago. This is the first time I moved back to Taiwan since I left when I was young. But most people ... still think of me as a little girl in their memory," Linton said, speaking of her reasons for releasing the album.
"A lot of things happened in 23 years and I am a different person. I sort of want to tell my stories through my songs. I do want to say, look, there are very wonderful things in my life and I hope you can remember these things and not just something terrible that happened 23 years ago and forever label me as some kind of victim," she said in a recent interview with the Taipei Times.
"It's actually a fact that I have experienced God's love. I met God and my biggest wish is that people will also experience God's love," Linton said.
The album contains 11 songs with lyrics and melodies that exude brisk, fresh and inspiring feelings.
Linton said she wanted the music to sound fresh so as to differentiate it from the local popular music, which all too often consists of sad love songs, with music videos showing people crying, people's faces looking angry, hopeless or depressed.
Five years ago she was married to Joel Linton, an American Presbyterian missionary. She is the mother of two children and is nine months pregnant with her third child.
Now devoting herself to doing missionary work with her husband in Taiwan, Judy Linton is part of the New Hope Christian Fellowship service.
Taiwan's Presbyterian Church is one of the most active organizations promoting Taiwanese independence, but Linton said this goal is secondary to her preaching service.
"Our primary mission is to spread the love and grace of God to everyone. Secondary to that, we also want to see positive development for Taiwan. We support Taiwan's independence because we speak for the truth," she said.
Linton said news of the many atrocities the KMT had inflicted on this country has not been widely disseminated abroad, and many foreigners are ignorant of the true colors of the authoritarian regime led by Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and his son Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國).
"The KMT was very good at propaganda. Many Americans actually did not know what exactly happened to Taiwan and they thought Chiang Kai-shek and Madame Chiang were some kind of great heroes. That's just not true," she said.
Asked whether she would one day get involved in politics like her father, Linton responded immediately, saying there is "zero" chance.
"Although what my father's been doing is a great and right thing to do, my major love is music and I'd love to continue it here in Taiwan," she said.
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