The Site of the Lin Family Murders:

In the wake of murder

On February 28, 1980, during the military trials of defendants in the case arising from the Kao­hsiung Incident—a violent clash between pro-­democracy protestors and the Kuomintang government in late 1979—Lin I-hsiung was being tried at the Military Law Division of the Taiwan Garrison Command, and his wife Fang Su-min was attending the trial. That day, around noon, Fang tried to call home several times, but there was no answer, so Lin I-­hsiung’s secretary Tien Chiu-chin was asked to go to the family home and check things out.

When Tien arrived, she found the family’s eldest daughter, Lin Huan-chun (today Judy Linton) lying inside the house with multiple stab wounds. Huan-chun was rushed to the hospital and fortunately survived. When police, family, and friends later entered the home’s basement, they found the murdered bodies of Lin’s mother Lin Yu A-mei and his seven-year-old twin daughters Liang-chun and Ting-chun. The case has never been solved.

At the foot of this crucifix are some bricks from the old Lin family home, preserved during renovation. The brightly-lit wall behind has a flagstone in the shape of Taiwan that is said to symbolize “Taiwan protected by the cross.”

After the homicides, the Lin home remained under surveillance. As the site of multiple murders, the property could also not readily be rented out or sold. It was only in 1982 that the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan bought the building and converted it into a religious space.

In the course of creating this church, many people came forward to contribute money but were unwilling to leave their names. Some even just threw their contributions into the basement. This reflected the oppressive social atmosphere of the White Terror at the time.

In 2025 Gikong Church became the first place in Taiwan to be named a “site of significance for transitional justice” under new rules allowing citizens to take the initiative in applying for the designation.

From residence to church

According to Wang Ming-tse, one of the ­pastors at Gikong Church, the name “Gikong” (Mandarin yiguang), meaning “light of justice” or “light of righteousness,” derives from the Bible, Psalms 89:14–15, and expresses the hope that “the light of God’s justice will shine down on this place.” The desire is to prevent such an atrocity from ever occurring again.

Since its founding, Gikong has continued to stand by the side of victims and their families, and to show concern for the disadvantaged and social issues. In 2014, Lin I-hsiung’s hunger strike to call for a halt to construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant also took place here.

In 2018 Gikong Church had the piano that the Lin daughters used to play refurbished and retuned. The Bible on top of the instrument is open at Psalms 89:14-15, the verse that inspired the church’s Chinese name, which translates to “light of justice” or “light of righteousness.”

Through successive renovations, Gikong has ­endeavored to preserve some traces of the old Lin home. A few red bricks left over from conversion of the building have been placed beneath a crucifix, to remind people that this is the former Lin family residence as well as a church. A commemorative piano remains at the entrance to the first floor; according to the church, Lin’s three daughters all used to play it.

As for various rumors, such as one claiming that bloodstains were left on the stairs and were later covered up with carpeting, Pastor Wang says that some of these stories were passed down among early churchgoers by word of mouth and are hard to either verify or disprove. His solution is to tell the different versions of the church’s history when giving tours and allow each visitor to form their own understanding of the truth.

The basement where Lin’s mother and twin daughters were killed has today become a Sunday-school classroom.

From memory to public space

Memories of the Lin Family Murders are also preserved at the Chilin Memorial House in Yilan County. Lin I-hsiung and Fang Su-min founded the Chilin Education Foundation in 1991 in hopes of using cultural and educational activities to cultivate a better understanding of Taiwanese society and concern for public affairs among citizens.

In 1993, the foundation transformed the home where Lin grew up in Yilan County into the Chilin Memorial House. It commemorates Lin’s mother and his twin daughters, displaying funeral scrolls, elegies, and some personal belongings. In 2001, it was registered by the county as a historic building.

The home where Lin I-hsiung grew up in Wujie, Yilan County was renovated in 1993 to create the Chilin Memorial House. It is registered by the county as a historic building.

In 2025 Gikong Church was designated by the National Human Rights Museum as a “site of significance for transitional justice.” A plaque was formally unveiled on April 5, 2026, making the church the first site in Taiwan approved by the government under new rules calling for ordinary citizens to initiate applications for this designation.

Gikong Church is the place where the Lin Family Murders occurred, whereas the Chilin Memorial House preserves family memories and historical materials. From two different perspectives, the two institutions keep people aware of the same stretch of history.

(left) The renovations to the Chilin Memorial House aimed to preserve the original appearance of the site and building as far as possible. The table in the foreground of this picture was used by Lin and his daughters.

 (right) The Chilin Memorial House commemorates the deceased and tells the history behind the Lin Family Murders. Funeral scrolls, elegies, and some personal belongings are displayed here.

(left) The Chilin Education Foundation’s Taiwan Democratic Movement Museum draws on precious historical materials to showcase the Taiwanese people’s path to democracy over the past century.

(right) The Chilin Education Foundation has set up several subsidiary memorial locations and spaces for the arts and education. With the mission of driving cultural education as well as social reform, it houses historical materials from Taiwan’s democracy and social movements.

Where history happened

Today, the church not only holds services and gatherings, it also offers tours to visiting groups from home and abroad. Pastor Wang, who has served at Gikong for five years, says that through his inter­actions with victims of political repression and their families, he has gradually come to understand that period of history and also comprehend that “faith and life must be linked together.” He says: “Victims’ families aren’t looking for you to give them a clear-cut answer, but simply need someone who will listen to them.”

In the transformation from the Lin family home to Gikong Church, the light of justice represented by the church’s name has pierced through a historical tragedy and come to shine on the freedom and democracy that Taiwan enjoys today. It also illuminates the hope that people feel for peace and the future. 

(left) The Chilin Memorial Garden is the Lin family’s cemetery, where Lin’s mother and twin daughters have long been interred. A memorial service is held here each year on February 28, the anniversary of their killings.

(right) Besides looking after his flock, Wang Ming-tse, one of the pastors at Gikong Church, also hosts guided tours. During his five years there to date, he has become reacquainted with the church’s history and has gained a deep conviction that faith and life must be linked together.

In 2014 Lin I-hsiung held a hunger strike at Gikong Church to call for construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant to be halted in accordance with public opinion. The site, now restored to its appearance at the time, serves as a story house for the importance of rule of, by, and for the people.