An American Barbarian at the Gate
T.C. Locke's Odyssey in the Taiwan Military
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27 January 2024 (Saturday)
An American Barbarian at the Gate
T.C. Locke's Odyssey in the Taiwan Military
By Wendell Minnick (Whiskey Mike) 顏文德
TAIPEI - For all the American military personnel now working in Taiwan, I recommend reading a book by an American who actually served in Taiwan’s military.
Though some Taiwanese-born American citizens have served in the Taiwan military, no one shocked the Taiwan Army more than T.C. Locke’s conscription.
Locke was a college kid when he arrived in Taiwan in the late 1980s to study Chinese.
It had only been a decade after the U.S.-Taiwan Defense Command (USTDC) had shuttered, and Taiwan was still struggling to end the one-party dictatorship of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and move towards a democratic nation.
Like so many foreigners who visit Taiwan, Locke fell in love with the island and the people.
But unlike most visitors, Locke went a step further.
Surrendering his U.S. citizenship, Locke was adopted by a Taiwan family and acquired citizenship.
Thomas Christopher Locke became Lin Dao-ming (林道明), now commonly called T.C. Lin by his friends.
Like all archetypal hero stories, his resurrection not only came with a new name, but also with unique challenges and responsibilities.
Namely, with citizenship, Lin was required to serve the mandatory two-year conscription in the military. That much was normal, but the timing was not.
His conscription came at the height of the Taiwan Strait Missile Crisis when China fired short-range ballistic missiles in an effort to disrupt Taiwan’s first democratic election.
His experience in the military was first written as a book for the local market in Chinese: Counting Mantou: An American in the Taiwanese Army (2003).
It was later updated in English for the international market as Barbarian at the Gate (2014). Available in both paperback and E-book.
When I mention his book to members of the U.S. military now assigned to Taiwan there is often shock and/or disbelief.
It is for this reason I recommend Lin’s book documenting his odyssey and what the U.S. military can learn about Taiwan’s unique military culture.
FYI: Today, T.C. Lin is a photographer and filmmaker. His personal website will give the reader a look into his art on Poagao.
