The news of Lim Yu-shin’s (林又新) passing hit the Taiwanese-American community like a shockwave. We are all saddened. Yu-shin died on Oct. 7, at home in Plano, Texas. He is survived by his spouse Helen (溫惠蘭) and son Andrew.
Because Yu-shin spelled his legal name as Yow Think Lin, we got used to calling him YT.
I first met YT in the spring of 1997 at a World United Formosans for Independence-USA (WUFI-USA) conference in San Diego to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 228 Incident. Peter Chang (張信堂) chaired WUFI-USA then. In attendance were Ng Chiau-tong (黃昭堂), Koh Se-kai (許世楷), Ro Fu-chen (羅福全), Wallace Liu (劉清白), Bob Yang (楊英育) and other members of the WUFI-USA Central Committee. Guests included Chen Wen-yen (陳文彥) and Lee Cheng-san (李正三).
I was invited by Strong Chuang (莊秋雄) to the event as a guest speaker. My talk about the cause and historical significance of 228 was later published in my Chinese-language book Freedom Calling — Voice of Taiwanese Americans and in America’s Security and Taiwan’s Freedom, which is in English.
Yu-shin served as the discussant of my presentation.
I shall always remember what he told me at the conclusion of his remarks: “We expect a great deal from you.”
Later that year, I decided to join WUFI-USA, which to me is a descendant of Formosans’ Free Formosa, which I helped organize in 1958 in Philadelphia.
In 1999, YT was president of the Taiwanese-American Association (TAA) and in that capacity, he did an outstanding job of coordinating all the chapters around the US. He also worked closely with the Formosan Association for Public Affairs and communicated regularly with high-ranking government officials in then-president Chen Shui-bian’s (A-bian, 陳水扁) administration.
In May of that year, Yu-shin convened a TAA representatives’ meeting in Houston. My wife Helen (翁進治) attended as a representative of the Philadelphia chapter and I as coordinator of the 30th Taiwanese American Conference–East Coast.
I took advantage of the meeting to give a talk about an anti-missile defense system the US was planning for East Asia at that time. What I did not realize then was that Tan Ganseng (陳彥升), an expert on missile technology, was in the audience. Happily Ganseng did not find fault with my presentation. A group photograph taken on that day is included in Freedom Calling, showing YT and Ganseng sitting in the front row.
As TAA president, YT coordinated the invitation of keynote speakers from Taiwan, to be shared by the Taiwanese-American summer conferences around the US. In 1999, YT also attended many such conferences in person. He presented a talk on “Cooperation among Taiwanese American organizations” at the 30th TAC-EC at Bloomsburg University, Pennsylvania.
YT graduated from National Taiwan University in 1972 and earned his doctorate in chemical engineering from Rice University in Houston in 1979. He worked for BP and ARCO for 21 years, winning a number of awards for outstanding technical achievement.
In 2001, Yu-shin went back to Taiwan to work as an adviser to China Petroleum Corp (now CPC Corp, Taiwan) and general manager of its subsidiary Overseas Petroleum and Investment Co (OPIC). In May 2008, YT was found to have colon cancer. After surgery in Taiwan, he returned to the US for further treatment. In 2009, he resigned from his job at OPIC, but continued to make several visits to Taiwan to help with CPC’s affairs.
During his eight-year stay in Taiwan, I had few occasions to see him. However, on May 25, 2004, Helen and I ran into Yu-shin at the Presidential Office. We were with a group of World Taiwanese Congress (WTC) representatives from around the globe to pay our respects to A-bian, who delivered a good speech. Yao Chia-wen (姚嘉文) and Mark Chen (陳唐山) were there. Kuo Cheng-kuo (郭重國) congratulated A-bian on his re-election. Then, surprisingly, Yao got A-bian’s consent and asked me to say a few words. So I explained how think tanks in the US influence foreign policy and described the founding of a new Washington-based think tank that is supportive of Taiwan — a project I was involved in.
Another surprise was that even though YT did not address the WTC group, he was sitting next to A-bian facing the audience. It appeared to me that he was a regular guest at the Presidential Office and was in frequent contact with A-bian.
I found out later that on top of his busy work schedule, YT was serving as liaison between WUFI headquarters and A-bian, as well as former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝). I believe YT played an important role in organizing the 2004 demonstration that featured 2 million people hand-in-hand, which was a significant factor in A-bian’s re-election.
In January, YT gave me a call and we had a long pleasant chat. That was the last time we spoke. In our conversation, I asked him about his health. He said he was feeling fine and his voice was clear and strong. He described his experiences while in Taiwan to me at some length. He was writing a memoir and promised to mail me a chapter. (The chapter is actually an analysis of Taiwan’s energy situation and his view on how to enhance the nation’s energy security.)
Yu-shin also sent me his last e-mail, which said in part: “I joined WUFI in 1979, right after the ‘Beautiful Island’ event. It has been more than half my life. Sometimes, I do wonder what I have accomplished.”
Yu-shin was handsome, bright and congenial. Yet he had a refreshing habit of speaking his mind clearly and directly. I liked him very much, particularly since he hailed from my hometown, Tainan. We both went to Tainan First High School although I graduated in 1951, the year YT was born.
YT wrote lucid opinion pieces. Two essays by him are included in Freedom Calling. The points he made then are still valid and relevant today. YT also had an excellent command of English. This was brought home when I reread the e-mails I exchanged with him in years gone by.
Yu-shin’s contributions to the cause of Taiwan independence and his tireless efforts on behalf of numerous Taiwanese-American organizations were many and admirable. Above all, he was a nice person, whose company will be sorely missed.
Li Thian-hok is a freelance commentator based in Pennsylvania.
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