Former presidential adviser Lin Yang-kang (林洋港), a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) heavyweight who faded from the political scene after losing the nation’s first direct presidential election in 1996 to former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), died on Saturday midnight of intestinal obstruction and organ failure. He was 87.
Lin, also known as Uncle A-Kang (阿港伯), was one of the so-called “Taiwanese youths” cultivated by the KMT to consolidate grassroots support. He had served as Nantou County commissioner, Taipei mayor, chairman of Taiwan Province, minister of the interior and head of the Judicial Yuan, and was once seen as the likely successor to former president Chiang Ching-kou (蔣經國).
Chiang instead picked Lee as his vice president, which sparked a power struggle between Lin and Lee. In the 1996 presidential election, Lin violated KMT regulations and paired up with former premier Hau Pei-tsun (郝柏村) to compete against Lee and former vice president Lien Chan (連戰). The Lin-Hau ticket lost the election and Lin’s party membership was revoked for years until the KMT restored it in 2005.
Photo: CNA
Lin left politics after retiring from his post as an adviser to the Presidential Office in 2006, and went to live in Greater Taichung with his family.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday expressed his condolences to Lin’s family and praised Lin’s life-long dedication and achievements, including the decision to build the Taipei Feitsui Reservoir in 1978 amid concerns about the reservoir’s possible threat to local residents’ safety if it were destroyed in a natural disaster.
“His vision allowed people in the Greater Taipei area to enjoy clean and cheap drinking water for the past 20 years. It was a very wise decision,” Ma said in a written statement.
Ma also expressed his gratitude for Lin’s advice, saying he had often discussed judicial matters with Lin when serving as minister of justice. Lin, then the minister of the Judicial Yuan, helped facilitate cooperation between the Judicial Yuan and the Ministry of Justice.
KMT heavyweights, including Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) and Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), son of Hau Pei-tsun, also expressed regret over Lin’s death.
Wang described Lin as a respectful politician who made great achievements, and said politicians in future generations should learn from his dedication to Taiwan’s development.
Hau Lung-bin thanked Lin for building the Feitsui Reservoir for Taipei, saying it prevented a shortage of drinking water for Greater Taipei residents.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard