| Lin Yang-kang | |
| Native Name: | Chinese: {{nobold|林洋港 |
| Nationality: | Republic of China |
| Order1: | 6th |
| Office1: | President of the Judicial Yuan |
| Term Start1: | 17 April 1987 |
| Term End1: | 1 September 1994 |
| Appointer1: | Chiang Ching-kuo |
| Vicepresident1: | Wang Dao-yuan Lu Yu-wen |
| Predecessor1: | Huang Shao-ku |
| Successor1: | Shih Chi-yang |
| Office2: | 14th Vice Premier of Taiwan |
| Premier2: | Yu Kuo-hwa |
| Term Start2: | 1 June 1984 |
| Term End2: | 1 May 1987 |
| Predecessor2: | Chiu Chuang-huan |
| Successor2: | Lien Chan |
| Office3: | 15th Minister of the Interior |
| Premier3: | Sun Yun-suan |
| Term Start3: | 25 November 1981 |
| Term End3: | 1 June 1984 |
| Predecessor3: | Chiu Chuang-huan |
| Successor3: | Wu Po-hsiung |
| Office4: | 10th Chairman of the Taiwan Provincial Government |
| Term Start4: | 12 June 1978 |
| Term End4: | 5 December 1981 |
| Premier4: | Sun Yun-suan |
| Predecessor4: | Hsieh Tung-min |
| Successor4: | Lee Teng-hui |
| Order5: | 3rd |
| Office5: | Mayor of Taipei |
| Term Start5: | 11 June 1976 |
| Term End5: | 9 June 1978 |
| Predecessor5: | Chang Feng-hsu |
| Successor5: | Lee Teng-hui |
| Office6: | 4th Magistrate of Nantou |
| Term Start6: | 1 February 1967 |
| Term End6: | 16 June 1972 |
| Predecessor6: | Yang Chao-pi |
| Successor6: | Ou Shu-wen (acting) Liu Yu-you |
| Birth Date: | 10 June 1927 |
| Birth Place: | Gyochi Village, Niitaka District, Taichū Prefecture, Japanese Taiwan (modern-day Yuchi, Nantou, Taiwan) |
| Death Place: | Taichung, Taiwan |
| Spouse: | Chen Ho (陳閤) |
| Alma Mater: | National Taiwan University (BS) |
Lin Yang-kang (; 10 June 1927 – 13 April 2013) was a Taiwanese politician. He was born at Sun Moon Lake during the Japanese rule of Taiwan. Some thought he might be Chiang Ching-kuo's successor as head of the Kuomintang (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.
Lin was born in Niitaka District, Taichū Prefecture (modern-day Nantou County), Taiwan, and graduated from National Taiwan University with a Bachelor of Science degree.[1]
Lin was married to Chen Ho (陳閤) and had one son and three daughters.[1] On 13 April 2013, Lin died at home in Taichung, of intestinal obstruction and organ failure, aged 85.[2]
Lin began his political career in the 1960s. By 1990, he was a vice-chairman of the Kuomintang. Aligned with the "non-mainstream faction" that aimed to be less confrontational with the People's Republic of China than Lee Teng-hui, Lin tried to replace Lee in the 1990 presidential election, with Chiang Wei-kuo as his running mate.[3] He resigned his position as the head of the Judicial Yuan on 1 September 1994 to become a presidential advisor to Lee Teng-hui. Upon taking the appointment, Lin again declared his candidacy for Taiwan's first direct presidential elections, scheduled for 1996.[4] However, he was not chosen as the Kuomintang nominee.[5] 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.[6] However, Lin's pro-China and pro-reunification views during the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis caused many Taishang to vote against him,[7] [8] and the Lin–Hau ticket finished third with 14.9% of the vote.[9] 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 after this defeat. Lin resumed membership in the KMT in 2005.[5]
| 1996 Republic of China Presidential Election Result | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| President Candidate | Vice President Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
| Lee Teng-hui | Lien Chan | Kuomintang | 5,813,699 | 54.0 | |
| Peng Ming-min | Frank Hsieh | Democratic Progressive Party | 2,274,586 | 21.1 | |
| Lin Yang-kang | Hau Pei-tsun | Independent | 1,603,790 | 14.9 | |
| Chen Li-an | Wang Ching-feng | Independent | 1,074,044 | 9.9 | |
| Invalid/blank votes | 117,160 | ||||
| Total | 10,883,279 | 100 | |||