Economist who swims against tide

He used basketballs to help him swim to mainland, and now helps keep national economy above water

On a night in May 1979, as China was launching its reform and opening-up drive, a young soldier from Taiwan braved the Taiwan Straits by swimming from the outlying island of Quemoy to the mainland using basketballs as a floatation device.

Justin Yifu Lin went on to gain a master's degree in political economics at Peking University, and then a doctorate in economics at the University of Chicago. He gained global prominence, once serving as a World Bank chief economist.