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Born in 1881 in Taichung, Lin Hsien-Tang’s entire lifespan experienced several regimes in Taiwan, from the Qing Dynasty, the Japanese rule, and the governance of KMT government. During the period of Japanese Occupation, he led and espoused several social, political, and cultural movements in Taiwan. One of the most significant and impactful movements was the 'Petition Movement for the Establishment of a Taiwanese Parliament’, which began in 1918 and lasted for 15 years. This movement contributed, though not directly, to the formation of Taiwan’s democratic culture. Lin, therefore, earned the name as 'the father of Taiwan’s Parliamentary Organizations.' The current study aimed to investigate Lin’s career development and psychological process by placing his choice-making process under the socio-historical contexts of his time. This current thesis analyzed and unfolded two identity crises faced by Lin: First, The Qing Dynasty of China ceded Taiwan Province to Japan in the Treaty of Shimonoseki after Japanese victory in the First Sino-Japanese War, Lin faced the crisis of identity and Family to stay in question.Second, in the middle age, he faced the Japanese colonial oppression.One significant experience for Lin was his encounter with the mainland scholar, Liang Qichao. Inspired by Liang and the Confucianism philosophies, Lin dedicated himself to a career in political movements and human right campaigns against the Japanese colonial rule, hoping to strive for the promotion of collective well-being and dignity of Taiwan and its people. While forming narratives for Lin’s psychobiography, the author initiated an inter-subjective dialogue by incorporating her own life/lived experiences into the storying of Lin's psychobiography reflexively, intending to achieve a fusion of horizons between the researcher and a significant historical individual. In other words, this study attempted to indicate a potential alternative direction for exploring and investigating individual issues centered on Taiwan’s collective identity crisis.
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