Justin Yifu Lin, the author of Reading China's Economy, was born in Taiwan's Ilan and served as an officer in the ROC military. In 1979, a year after Deng Xiaoping announced his reforms, Lin defected to mainland China, where he quickly advanced in his career, becoming a professor at Peking University and even a delegate to the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
《解讀中國經濟》作者林毅夫是中國經濟學家，他出身於台灣宜蘭，1979 年、也就是鄧小平標舉改革開放的隔年，以中華民國軍官的身分「叛逃」到大陸，隨後平步青雲，不只擔任北京大學教授，還是中共全國政協委員。