The Renegade Economist: The Legend of Justin Yifu Lin

Justin Yifu Lin was a rising star in the Taiwanese military before he famously defected to mainland China in 1979 by swimming from the island of Kinmen to the mainland. Following his defection, he pursued an elite education in the United States and rose to international prominence as a renowned economist, eventually serving as the Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of the World Bank. Despite his professional success, he remains a deeply polarizing figure who is legally considered a traitor in Taiwan, and his repeated attempts to return to his homeland for family reasons have been blocked by ongoing political and legal tensions.