Former Democratic Progressive Party Secretary-General Lin Youchang, who serves as a visiting scholar at a think tank in Washington, USA, revealed today (5th) that this trip will come to an end. I am preparing to leave the United States, "follow" the ocean current of returning home, and go home to make the final sprint for the county and mayor election with everyone.
Lin Youchang posted on Facebook today that the United States will hold midterm elections on November 3, and the results of the elections have been roughly announced. And his plan to serve as a visiting scholar at a Washington think tank is about to come to an end. Tomorrow, we will leave the United States. From the other side of the Pacific, "following" the returning ocean current, I went home! Next, we will devote ourselves to the auxiliary election and work with everyone to make the final sprint for the county and mayor election.
Lin Youchang revealed that living in the United States for the past six months gave him the opportunity to slow down temporarily and break away from the busy administrative and political work of the past. He participated in various policy forums, visited think tanks, scholars and government figures, and also visited different cities in the United States to make friends from different fields. "From geopolitics, Taiwan-US relations, Indo-Pacific security, defense industry cooperation, to AI technology competition, every conversation and every exchange gave him more insights and reflections on Taiwan's international environment and the direction we should take in the future."
Lin Youchang also participated in activities of Taiwanese overseas Chinese associations in Los Angeles, Greater Washington, Maryland, New York and other places, and had many interactions with international students and young Taiwanese friends who were developing in the United States.
Lin Youchang said that he recently participated in the 2026 US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference to gain an in-depth understanding of China's latest threat model, the experience of the battlefields in Ukraine and Iran, and the latest issues in US-Taiwan security cooperation.
At the same time, we went deep into the former "industrial heart" of the United States, visited the Rust Belt, and witnessed the efforts of these cities from industrial decline to revitalization; in the American countryside, we saw the endless corn fields, soybean fields, cotton fields, and vast pastures, and experienced the frankness and innocence of the residents of remote towns.
In the process of visiting the historical battlefields of the American Revolutionary War and the Civil War, I deeply realized the resilience and courage displayed by the founders when they faced the powerful British army. I also personally experienced the bloodshed, pain and historical lessons left by the Civil War.
Lin Youchang emphasized: "Reading thousands of books is not as good as traveling thousands of miles." These experiences allowed him to understand the United States not only from books and reports, but also through personal contact with the land, historical scenes, and contact with different people and cities, just as he did fieldwork in urban and rural areas when he was a student. He understood the country in flesh and blood.
Lin Youchang mentioned that Shen Boyang's recent "ocean current" has brought new ideas to this election. He said that ocean currents connect different sea areas to each other and drive the flow of the entire ocean. It can flow slowly and warmly, or it can also create turbulent waves.
Finally, Lin Youchang thanked "every friend I met in the United States in the past six months, thank you to all those who helped, accompanied and supported me, and thanked my friends in Taiwan who have always thought of and cared about me! After half a year of recharging, I came back with a full load. I returned from the other side of the Pacific with a full load of harvest and energy. Not only did I catch the ocean current returning home, but I also wanted to join the big ship of Taiwan, work as a crew member with everyone, and work hard together!"
