Tue, Mar 19, 2002 page3

• Newsmakers: Lin Hsin-yi proves to be a beacon for controversy

  PROFILE Though 56-year-old Lin Hsin-yi never planned a political career, he's been at the center of several high-profile disputes in the years since taking public office

  • By Ko Shu-ling / STAFF REPORTER
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  Yesterday a friend. Today a foe.

  Lin Hsin-yi (林信義), vice premier and chairman of the Council for Economic Planning and Development, is learning first hand about the Alzheimer's disease that sometimes affects Taiwan's politics.

  Last week, TSU lawmakers called on Lin to step down from his posts. The pro-independence party of 13 legislators is upset with Lin for advocating allowing Taiwanese chipmakers to set up eight-inch wafer fabs in China.

  They also say Lin -- while serving as minister of economic affairs -- was misled into believing that 12-inch wafer manufacturing is already the industry norm. (While many chipmakers are moving into the advanced technology, the bulk of wafers made today are still the eight-inch variety).

  But while the TSU has taken Lin to task for his stance on the wafer issue, many of the group's members and ideological supporters found in Lin a savior on another contentious issue two years ago.

  It was Lin who recommended that the proposed Fourth Nuclear Power Plant be scrapped -- a decision that landed the DPP government in hot water with the opposition-dominated legislature and led to a constitutional interpretation by the Council of Grand Justices.

  The decision -- which later had to be reversed because of the council's interpretation -- earned Lin praise from the anti-nuclear movement and demands from the opposition that he resign as economics minister.

  While the TSU doesn't speak for everyone in the anti-nuclear movement, there is some overlap between the environmentalists those opposed to allowing eight-inch wafer investment in China, such as the Taiwan Association of University Professors. Also, Shu Chin-chiang (蘇進強), TSU's former spokesman and now a member of the National Security Council, supported scrapping the power plant but opposes Lin on the wafer issue.

  The TSU and the university professors say the government should wait until 12-inch fabs reach full speed before allowing eight-inch wafer technology to migrate to China.

  But Lin says they should be allowed to set up shop now and has dismissed TSU allegations that he had been given incorrect information when weighing the issue.

  "I don't think I've been fed with false information," he said last week. "Besides, the information [provided by Industrial Development Bureau] is purely for reference purposes and doesn't represent the government's final decision."

  The government is expected to announce its policy on the eight-inch wafer issue by the end of this month.

  Taiwan's Iococa

  Dubbed "Taiwan's Lee Iococa," Lin, 56, is the first entrepreneur to become a Cabinet official in Taiwan's history.

  During his five years as president of China Motor Corp (中華汽車), Lin helped save the automaker from going belly up.

  He also put himself on the map by taking China Motor to China, establish its first car plant in Fujian Province during his three-year stint as the company's vice chairman between 1997 and 2000.

  In establishing the plant, Lin brought along more than 30 downstream manufacturers of car parts -- making China Motor one of Taiwan's early successful investors in China.

  His hands-on experience in the industrial sector and extensive political connections quickly won the attention and appreciation of the KMT and DPP governments.

  In 1997, then premier Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) asked Lin to head the Cabinet's Central Personnel Administration. But Lin turned down the offer, bowing to pressure from his boss and wife.

  But he took a job in 2000 in the administration of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), becoming minister of economic affairs.

  Lin said it took time to grow accustomed to the idea of holding public office. Being a civil servant was never a part of his career plans.

  "I may not be great, but I thought I could do something for my country with my 30 years of experience in the industrial sector," Lin said, raising his distinctive thick, black eyebrows. "But I didn't expect to cause so many controversies."

  Five months into his stint as economics minister, Lin, a 35-year KMT member, was expelled from the party for siding with the DPP on the nuclear power plant issue.

  Although the Cabinet formed a committee in February last year to evaluate holding a non-binding referendum on the plant project, that idea was put off because of the nation's "economic hardship."

  Lin also was ruthlessly criticized for his performance at APEC meetings in Shanghai last year.

  Critics blasted Lin for failing to protest against China's degrading treatment of Taiwan. China, the last year's host of the APEC meetings, refused to acknowledge Lin as a government minister in his invitation and other documents.

  But Lin refuted those critics, saying he had given a protest letter to his Chinese counterpart during bilateral talks as well as to other APEC trade ministers to safeguard Taiwan's "national dignity."

  As the chairman of last year's Economic Development Advisory Conference, his liberal stance on cross-strait trade relations helped put an end to the government's "no haste, be patient" policy. The mantra was replaced with a new slogan, "active opening, effective management."

  But while the new policy has received much praise, many have expressed concern over the government's ability to carry it out.

  Lin, who supervises the nation's water conservancy departments, also came under fire after Typhoon Xangsane swept through the nation on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, 2000. The storm resulted in the worst flooding in decades, leaving at least 62 dead and causing millions in property and crop damage.

  Born to a family of nine in Tainan County, Lin is the youngest child and only son in the family. After failing his first attempt at the Joint College Entrance Examination, Lin delivered milk and prepared for a year for his second try.

  After graduating from the department of mechanical engineering at National Cheng Kung University in 1970, Lin married Yeh Mei-yin (葉美吟) and joined the China Motor Corp as an engineer in 1972.

  Describing himself as an honest person, Lin said that politics may not be his cup of tea.

  "Sure, I've questioned myself over why I took up the job in the first place. But when I look at where I began two years ago, I know that I came here to fight and I won't quit."
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