wfn.org | Teens visit Yi-Kuang Church, see first-hand cost of democracy

["Taiwan Church News" <enews@pctpress.org>]

>      Taiwan Church News

>3024~3025 Edition

>February 8~21, 2010

Teens visit Yi-Kuang Church, see first-hand cost of democracy

>Reported by Sam Lee

>Written by Lydia Ma

Nearly 30 years after the infamous Lin Family Massacre, more than  70 youth toured Yi-Kuang

Presbyterian Church, the site of the massacre, during a seminar  introducing White Terror.

Sponsored by Yi-Kuang Church, the tour was led by current DPP  legislator Tien Chiu-chin,

who was also the first eye-witness of the massacre.

According to Tien, democracy in Taiwan was achieved because many  people fought hard for

it to the point of risking or sacrificing their own lives. She  added that whenever she felt

discouraged because of the many hardships before her, she would be  reminded of the Lin

twins and Grandma Lin and their sacrifices would renew her  strength and encourage her to

>continue serving her countrymen.

On February 28, 1980, while Lin Yi-hsiung was still detained  because of his involvement in the

Kaohsiung Incident, an intruder broke into his home and stabbed  his mother and his twin

daughters to death. Lin’s eldest daughter, Lin Huan-jun (aka  Judy Linton), sustained heavy

injuries after being stabbed 7 times and was rushed to the  hospital. Judy’s life was spared,

but authorities at the time claimed to know nothing about the  murders, even though Lin’s

>house was under 24-hour police surveillance.

Tien was Lin Yi-hsiung’s assistant at the time of the  incident and was also the first person to

arrive at the crime scene. Memories of what she saw then remain as  fresh today as if the

incident had occurred only yesterday, she said.

Tien told this group of youth she hoped younger generations in  Taiwan would always

remember that their elders fought hard to make democracy possible  in Taiwan and there was

a lot of tears and blood shed in the process. The legacy of these  people must never be

>forgotten.

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