"The Taiwan spirit" was well in evidence in his childhood as well. A class president who read the classics In his authorized biography Sincerity, Lin recounts that his parents let him, the oldest male in his generation, be adopted by his father's oldest brother so as to help carry on the burning of incense for their ancestors. This brought him the good fortune of special treatment within the family.
在授權傳記《誠信》中，林洋港回憶，既是長男、又是長孫，還為了香火傳承過繼給大伯父，這是他得以享受家族刻意栽培的幸運之處。