Lin Fei-fan

Lin Fei-fan (; born 19 May 1988) is a Taiwanese politician and activist currently serving as deputy secretary-general of Taiwan's National Security Council. Lin was one of the leaders of the Sunflower Student Movement. He joined the Democratic Progressive Party as deputy secretary-general in 2019.

Early life and education Lin was born on 19 May 1988 in Tainan, Taiwan. He began studying public administration at National Chi Nan University before graduating from National Cheng Kung University with a B.A. in political science in 2011. He then earned an M.A. in political science from National Taiwan University in 2017 and completed graduate studies in England at the London School of Economics, where he earned an M.Sc. in comparative politics in 2018.

Activism career Court proceedings against 21 protesters began in June 2016. Lin was among the first to be charged with various offenses, along with Chen Wei-ting and Huang Kuo-chang. In a March 2017 Taipei District Court decision, Chen, Huang, and Lin were acquitted of incitement charges.

Political career Lin joined the Democratic Progressive Party in July 2019 as deputy secretary-general.

On August 17, 2022, in the aftermath of then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, Beijing blacklisted seven Taiwanese officials, including Lin, whom it labelled as "diehard "Taiwan independence" separatists" for their support of Taiwan independence. They were banned from entering mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau, and prohibited from maintaining financial or personal connections with mainland individuals and organizations.

The DPP endorsed Lin's legislative candidacy in May 2023, for Taipei 3 in the 2024 Taiwanese legislative election. Lin dropped out two weeks later, after media coverage of a 2022 sexual assault allegation against a director hired by the party. Handling of the allegation was said to have been mishandled by Lin's former subordinate Hsu Chia-tien, and Lin said he would assume responsibility as head of the department.

On May 15, 2024, Lin was appointed deputy secretary-general at Taiwan's National Security Council, effective May 20, 2024, under the leadership of Joseph Wu in the Lai Ching-te administration. He is the youngest individual to hold the position.

Personal life Lin married Lin Ya-Ping in June 2017.

Publications

Articles

Seeds of the Sunflower Movement, Jamestown Foundation, February 16, 2024 Skepticism Toward U.S. Support for Taiwan Harms Regional Security, National Interest, March 15, 2023 (co-authored with Wen Lii) It's time the free world commits to the defense of Taiwan, New York Times, August 12, 2022 Americans should stop using Taiwan to score political points against Trump and China, The Washington Post, December 6, 2016 (co-authored with Chen Wei-ting and June Lin)