Lin Yang-kang ( ; 10 June 1927 – 13 April 2013) was a Taiwanese politician. He was born at

Sun Moon Lake Sun Moon Lake ( zh, t=, p=Rìyuè tán, poj= ; Thao language, Thao: ''Zintun'') is a lake in Yuchi, Nantou, Yuchi Township, Nantou County, Taiwan. It is the largest body of water in Taiwan. The area around the lake is home to the Thao people, o ...

during the Japanese rule of Taiwan. Some thought he might be

Chiang Ching-kuo Chiang Ching-kuo (, 27 April 1910 – 13 January 1988) was a politician of the Republic of China. The eldest and only biological son of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, he held numerous posts in the government of the Republic of China and ended ...

's successor as head of the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

(KMT), but after failing to win the KMT's nomination for president in 1996, he became an independent. Lin rejoined the party in 2005, and died in 2013.

Personal life

Lin was born in Niitaka District, Taichū Prefecture (modern-day

Nantou County Nantou is the second largest County (Taiwan), county of Taiwan by area, located in the central part of the country. It is also the only non-coastal county in Taiwan. Its name derives from the Hoanya people, Hoanya Taiwanese aborigines, Taiwanese ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, and graduated from

National Taiwan University National Taiwan University (NTU; zh, t=國立臺灣大學, poj=Kok-li̍p Tâi-oân Tāi-ha̍k, p=, s=) is a National university, national Public university, public research university in Taipei, Taiwan. Founded in 1928 during Taiwan under J ...

with a Bachelor of Science degree. Lin was married to Chen Ho (陳閤) and had one son and three daughters. On 13 April 2013, Lin died at home in Taichung, of intestinal obstruction and organ failure, aged 85.

Political career

Lin began his political career in the 1960s. By 1990, he was a vice-chairman of the

. Aligned with the "non-mainstream faction" that aimed to be less confrontational with the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

than

Lee Teng-hui Lee Teng-hui (; pinyin: ''Lǐ Dēnghuī''; 15 January 192330 July 2020) was a Taiwanese politician and agricultural scientist who served as the fourth president of the Republic of China, president of the Taiwan, Republic of China (Taiwan) unde ...

, Lin tried to replace Lee in the 1990 presidential election, with Chiang Wei-kuo as his running mate. He resigned his position as the head of the Judicial Yuan on 1 September 1994 to become a presidential advisor to

. Upon taking the appointment, Lin again declared his candidacy for Taiwan's first direct presidential elections, scheduled for 1996. However, he was not chosen as the Kuomintang nominee. Lin and Chen Li-an resisted calls to join forces and run as the New Party ticket, choosing instead to run separately as independents. After considering Chang Feng-hsu as a running mate, Lin eventually chose former premier Hau Pei-tsun, believing that Hau's background might attract more mainlanders' votes for him. However, Lin's pro-China and pro- reunification views during the

Third Taiwan Strait Crisis The Third Taiwan Strait Crisis, also called the 1995–1996 Taiwan Strait Crisis, or the 1996 Taiwan Strait Crisis, was the effect of a series of missile tests conducted by the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the waters surrounding Taiwan, ...

caused many Taishang to vote against him, and the Lin–Hau ticket finished third with 14.9% of the vote. Chen ran with Wang Ching-feng. Both Chen and Lin were later expelled from the Kuomintang. He retired from political affairs and secluded himself in

Taichung Taichung (, Wade–Giles: '), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality in central Taiwan. Taichung is Taiwan's second-largest city, with more than 2.85 million residents, making it the largest city in Ce ...

after this defeat. Lin resumed membership in the KMT in 2005.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lin, Yang-kang 1927 births 2013 deaths Mayors of Taipei Kuomintang politicians in Taiwan National Taiwan University alumni Magistrates of Nantou County Vice premiers of the Republic of China on Taiwan Ministers of the interior of Taiwan Taiwanese presidents of the Judicial Yuan Taiwanese people of Hoklo descent Senior advisors to President Lee Teng-hui Chairpersons of the Taiwan Provincial Government Independent presidential candidates of Taiwan Expelled members of the Kuomintang