Many people don’t like mixing politics and metal but there are some who not just comment about it but also take active part on the political process of their country. Next time you visit Taiwan, make sure to say hi to Taipei’s newest legislator and frontman of extreme metal band Chthonic, Freddy Lim, as he just won the elections for the fifth district on the city.
Lim won the office under his own political party “New Power Party,” which we first wrote about last month, and while he hasn’t officially comment about his victory, his friend and Lamb of God’s frontman, Randy Blythe did take some time to talk about the event. Blythe posted the following on his Instagram account:
“At the moment, I don’t have the words to describe how proud I am of the man in the middle of this photo, my friend Freddy Lim. Freddy is standing here with his band mates, the members of Taiwan’s black/death metal band, Chthonic. Why is Freddy wearing a suit while the rest of the band is in their crazy stage gear? Because Freddy decided to run for office in Taiwan’s national legislative elections this year, trying gain a seat in their parliament/congress (or whatever the Taiwanese equivalent of that is- it’s confusing to me).
Not only that, he decided to start his own political party in order to do so, the New Power Party. I have been friends with Freddy & his bandmates since Chthonic played with us at Ozzfest in 2007- they have even flown me to Taiwan to play gigs & act in a crazy political/comedy/Kung fu movie. They are immensely cool people, & very engaged with their community in Taiwan. Freddy is also the president of Taiwan’s chapter of Amnesty International, & has a done a ton of charity work.
Taiwanese politics is an INCREDIBLY complex subject that I only barely comprehend (this goes back to the WWII era & the Chinese Civil War between Mao Zedong & Chiang Kai-shek- basically China still claims Taiwan as its own, & there are people in one of the political parties in Taiwan- the KMT- founded by Chiang Kai-shek, who claim that they are the rightful rulers of China, not the communists- it’s freaking INSANE- technically & legally, the Chinese Civil War never ended), but basically Freddy ran on a platform of maintaining & solidifying Taiwanese national independence from China (which is another crazy issue, because technically no really knows Taiwan’s legal status as a nation) & trying to fix income quality in Taiwan- AND HE WON.
One of the six mainstream party opponents in the race urged people not to vote for him because he “has hair that is longer than a woman’s hair and is mentally abnormal”- well, it looks like the people have spoken, so IN YOUR FACE, pal! Freddy is one of the most politically astute people I have ever met, & I am so proud of him for trying make a change in his country & community! CONGRATS, bro!”
