Lin Yi-hsiung

In 2018, the Transitional Justice Commission announced it would investigate the massacre using documents from the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau. Some of those records had been damaged in the wake of Typhoon Nari in 2001. For other records belonging to the National Security Bureau, it was not certain that all the requested documents could be declassified.

On 22 April 2014, Lin Yi-hsiung began a hunger strike at Taipei's Gikong Presbyterian Church to demand that the government halt the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City's Gongliao District, while also calling for an amendment to the referendum law. Lin intended to sustain the fast until construction of the nuclear power plant was halted. He ended the strike eight days later when the government pledged to halt construction on the power plant.

The case was reopened in 2009 by the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office; it was discovered that a call had been placed from the Lin's home to a restaurant shortly after the murders, but the caller did not speak. No new interviews were conducted for the later investigation, and the investigation was closed after four months. The High Prosecutors Office concluded there was not enough forensic evidence, and further, there was nothing to tie the Taiwan Garrison Command to the crime. The investigation was criticized as a sham, intended only "to prove that security agencies were not behind [the crimes]."

In late 2005, he encouraged and endorsed Wong Chin-chu's candidacy in the Democratic Progressive Party's chairmanship by-election of 15 January 2006. Some observers considered Wong as the reformist candidate because the two other candidates each represented the then president and premier's factions respectively. Lacking a factional base, however, Wong was only able to marshall 9.4% of the votes.

Less than two weeks later, on 24 January 2006, Lin Yi-hsiung renounced membership of the Democratic Progressive Party of Taiwan. He said the elections of recent years had become partisan dogfights, resulting in national upheaval. He therefore had no intention of serving in the party's administration, nor of running for public office for the party. According to Lin Yi-hsiung, it was no longer meaningful to be a DPP member, and he has chosen to be a non-partisan citizen of his democratic country.

Despite this, Lin recently endorsed and campaigned for the Democratic Progressive Party's two candidates in the December 2006 mayoral elections. Lin went on the campaign trail for Frank Hsieh (candidate for Mayor of Taipei City) and Chen Chu (candidate for Mayor of Kaohsiung City), both of whom are long time friends of his dating back to the late 1970s. He states that despite all its vices, the Democratic Progressive Party still remains the most progressive party in Taiwan.

Leaving all public and party posts behind him, Lin has been concerning himself with 'reform from outside (the centers of power)' as he campaigns for various issues of environmental justice and parliamentary reform, most importantly in mobilizing public support against nuclear power (2000) and for reducing the number of parliamentary seats by half (2004), both of which are detrimental to Chen's and DPP's hold on power.

Three years later, Lin Yi-hsiung became the 8th Chairperson of Democratic Progressive Party (1998–2000) and successfully ran a campaign for Chen Shui-bian as the 10th President of the Republic of China. Immediately following Chen's election in May 2000, Lin demonstrated his unwillingness to share the spoils of victory in a surprising retirement from DPP's chairmanship. Citing Robert Frost's poem, he retired with the remark that he preferred to take "the road less travelled by".

Lin returned to Taiwan in 1989 and became a major advocate against nuclear power in Taiwan soon after. In 1995, he ran and lost in the Democratic Progressive Party's four-way primary for the 1996 Taiwan presidential election.

In August 1984, Lin left jail on parole. Desmond Tutu met with Lin during a visit to Taiwan in 2007, urging forgiveness and publicity for Lin's story.

Fang moved to the US with her eldest daughter in 1981; Lin Huan-chun learned piano, embraced Christianity, and married Rev. Joel Linton in 1998. She is now a renowned pianist and gospel singer in Taiwan. After returning to Taiwan in 1983, Fang was elected to the Legislative Yuan in December of that year. Chen Ding-nan stated the murder of Lin's mother and daughters also motivated him to start his political career.

On 13 December 1979, Lin was arrested for his involvement in the Kaohsiung Incident. His wife, Fang Su-min, and mother were first allowed to visit him on 27 February 1980; Lin was in detention and had been beaten severely by Taiwanese police. Lin's 60-year-old mother, Yu A-mei (游阿妹; Yóu Āmèi), contacted Amnesty International's office in Osaka, Japan, after their visit.

Lin Yi-hsiung (Chinese: 林義雄; born 24 August 1941) is a politician from Taiwan. He was a major leader of the democratization movement in Taiwan. He graduated from the Department of Law of National Taiwan University. He was first exposed to politics in 1976 while serving as attorney for Kuo Yu-hsin [zh] (1908–1985) who sued the ruling KMT party for electoral fraud. Lin was elected a member of Taiwan Provincial Consultative Council in Kuo's old electorate in 1977.