Lin Hsien-t'ang (22 December 1881 - 8 December 1956), prominent businessman, banker, and philanthropist in Taiwan, worked for many years before 1945 to secure better political and educational opportunities for the Chinese of Taiwan. From 1950 until his death he lived in Japan.

A native of Changchow, Fukien, Lin Hsient'ang was born into a wealthy gentry family in Changhua hsien, Taiwan. His father, Lin Wan-an, was a chü-jen who entered the camphor business after Taiwan was ceded to Japan. The young Lin received his education in the Chinese classics under private tutors. In 1895, because Taiwan was in turmoil as a result of the Sino-Japanese war, he and his family sought refuge in Ch'uanchou, Fukien, but they returned to Taiwan in 1896. After his father's death in 1900, Lin took over the family business and became the village head of Wufeng, where the family resided.

Lin Hsien-t'ang went to Japan on business in 1907 and met Liang Ch'i-ch'ao (q.v.), with whom he had corresponded. This meeting had considerable influence on Lin's political outlook and later career. Liang reportedly advised him that in struggling for their political rights the people of Taiwan should not resort to violence, but should use legal means. In dealing with the colonial government they should imitate the Irish. Direct association of the Taiwanese leaders with Japanese authorities in Japan would enhance their status and would serve as a counterbalance to the power of the Government General in Taiwan. Lin invited Liang Ch'i-ch'ao to visit him in Taiwan, and Liang finally made the trip in 1911. His visit seems to have strengthened Lin's emotional ties to China, for Lin made a trip to Peking in 1913.

Lin Hsien-t'ang played an active role in movements to secure better political and educational opportunities for the Chinese of Taiwan. In 1914 he helped finance the establishment of the Taichung Middle School (the predecessor- of the Provincial Taichung First Middle School) and joined the Taiwan Society of Assimilation founded by Itagaki Taisuke. The aim of this society was the achievement of integration and equal rights for the Chinese of Taiwan, but it was unsuccessful because the Government General and the Japanese residents of Taiwan opposed its programs.

Lin Hsien-t'ang then strove for the repeal of a provisional law passed by the Japanese Diet in 1897 that authorized the governor of Taiwan to issue regulations which would have the full force of Japanese legislation. He made personal appeals to various officials and organized petition campaigns among Chinese students in Taiwan, but his efforts came to naught. In 1921 the provisional law achieved permanence. By that time, Lin also was engaged in a campaign to establish a representative assembly w'ith a limited franchise. His speeches throughout the island were applauded enthusiastically, but his group's petitions to the Japanese Diet were ignored. In 1923 the Government General suppressed this movement, dismissing Lin from membership on its advisory committee and imprisoning other leaders of the movement.

During this period, Lin also engaged in cultural and commercial activities. When the Taiwan Culture Association (Tai-wan wen-hua hsueh-hui) was organized by students at the Taiwan Medical School in 1921, he was elected its general manager. In 1923 he became president of the Taiwan Min-pao [Taiwan people's journal], and in 1926 he joined the newly organized Ta-tung hsin-t'o hui-she [Ta-tung trust company], which had been established to protect the commercial interest of the Taiwanese people.

In 1927, partly because of disagreements with other leaders of the Taiwan Culture Association, Lin Hsien-t'ang left Taiwan and made a tour of Europe and the United States. He wrote a book about his travels, Huan-ch'iu yu-chi [a journey around the world]. After returning to Taiwan, he became president of the Taiwan hsin-min-pao Company, which incorporated the Taiwan Alin-pao in 1930. However, the Taiwan hsin-min-pao Company was not permitted to publish its newspaper until 1932, by which time Lin no longer was its president.

When the Japanese government tried to restrict the exporting of Taiwan rice to Japan in 1932, Lin protested on behalf of the agrarian population of Taiwan. Because he owned a great deal of land and because he was a man of both wealth and prestige, the Government General frequently consulted him and asked his advice on local problems. In 1945, when Japan was facing defeat in the War in the Pacific, the Japanese government made Lin a member of the House of Peers in Tokyo.

When Taiwan was officially restored to China in the autumn of 1945, Lin Hsien-t'ang announced his support of the National Government. He served as chairman of the official ceremonies held on 25 October to celebrate the restoration and to welcome the new governor, Ch'en Yi (q.v.). In 1946 Lin was elected to the Taiwan provincial assembly, and in 1947 he became chairman of the board of trustees of the reorganized Chung-hua Bank. Public dissatisfaction with the inefficiency, arrogance, and brutality of Ch'en Yi and his associates increased steadily and reached a climax on 28 February 1947, when a huge demonstration took place in Taipei.

Ch'en Yi's military police fired on the demonstrators, killing several and almost causing an island-wide revolt. Ch'en then launched a brutal suppression campaign, during which several thousand Taiwanese were massacred. He was removed from office and a regular provincial government (see Wei Tao-ming) was organized in April 1947. However, the damage had been done, and many Chinese in Taiwan, including Lin Hsien-t'ang, now had serious reservations about the National Government and its policies.

In 1950, shortly after the Nationalist refugees from the mainland arrived in Taiwan, Lin moved to Japan, where he lived until his death on 8 September 1956. He was survived by his wife, Yang Shui-hsin, and by three sons and one daughter.

Lin Hsien-t'ang was also known for his poetry, written in the classical Chinese style. Three collections of his poems were published. He also organized several poetry societies and served as the director of the Taiwan Archives, founded in 1948.