Lin Tsung-hsien or Lin Tsong-shyan (; born 22 February 1962) is a Taiwanese politician. He was elected Yilan County Magistrate in 2009 and served until 2017, when he was appointed to lead the

Council of Agriculture The Council of Agriculture (COA, ) is the official government body in the Republic of China (Taiwan) under the Executive Yuan in charged with overseeing affairs related to agriculture, forestry, fishery, animal husbandry and food affairs. CAO is a ...

Education and early career

Lin was born in

Luodong Luodong Township () is an urban township in the central part of Yilan County, Taiwan. Luodong is the smallest township in the county. Naming Its name and former name () derive from the Kavalan word '' rutung'', meaning "monkey", referring to a ...

to a family of farmers, and received his bachelor's degree from Chiayi Agricultural College and master's degree from Fo Guang University. Upon completion of mandatory military service, Lin became an insurance agent.

Political career

Lin became active in

Luodong Township Luodong Township () is an urban township in the central part of Yilan County, Taiwan. Luodong is the smallest township in the county. Naming Its name and former name () derive from the Kavalan word '' rutung'', meaning "monkey", referring to a ...

's local politics in 1988, having worked his way up to the position of district secretary-general by 1994. In 1998, Lin joined the Democratic Progressive Party. In February 2002, he became the mayor of Luodong Township, serving for two terms until December 2009.

Yilan County Magistracy

Lin assumed the magistracy of Yilan County on 20 December 2009 after winning the 2009 Republic of China local election on 5 December 2009 under the Democratic Progressive Party. During his first term as county magistrate, Lin improved the county's standing through reform. He also restored the annual Yilan International Children's Folklore and Folkgame Festival which was suspended by his predecessor Lu Kuo-hua. Lin had also supported several agricultural policies, such as banning chemical herbicides in farms and ending the use of unprocessed manure as fertilizer. In terms of housing development, he had created regulations on farmhouses and reduced the number of residential buildings permitted on farmland. On 29 November 2014, Lin won the Yilan County magistrate election as the DPP candidate. In his second term, Lin supported

Ko Wen-je Ko Wen-je (; born 6 August 1959), also known by his nickname, Ko P (), is a Taiwanese politician and physician. Ko was mayor of Taipei from 2014 to 2022, and Chairman of the Taiwan People's Party since 2019. Before becoming mayor, he was a doct ...

's proposal to build a railway connecting Yilan and Taipei. However, the project drew harsh criticism for its predicted negative effects on the environment.

Minister of Agriculture

Lin was appointed the head of the

in February 2017. He resigned the position on 1 December 2018.

References

Magistrates of Yilan County, Taiwan Living people 1962 births Democratic Progressive Party (Taiwan) politicians Taiwanese Ministers of Agriculture People from Luodong, Yilan County, Taiwan {{Taiwan-DPP-politician-stub