Rock star-turned-politician to be representative to Finland: Source

Taipei, May 17 (CNA) Freddy Lim (林昶佐), a rock singer turned politician, has been tapped by Taiwan's government as the country's next representative to Finland, a source in local diplomatic circles said Saturday.

Speaking with CNA, the source confirmed local news media reports that said Lim will be named as the country's next envoy to Finland, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said the appointment depended on a formal announcement made by the Presidential Office.

President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) has emphasized values-oriented diplomacy and Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) has pushed for cultural diplomacy, the source said, and Lim's appointment would help Taiwan "inject new vitality" into its diplomacy and expand ties with Europe.

The source said Finland is a mature democracy with a resilient civil society, sound social welfare system, and emphasis on human rights and international justice, and is also renowned for its heavy metal music, which Lim's experience matches.

After National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra (NTSO) Director Liu Suan-yung (劉玄詠) was appointed as Taiwan's representative to Austria last year, Lim's appointment would further boost Taiwan's visibility in Europe, the source said.

Lim, who co-founded the opposition New Power Party (NPP) in 2015, was elected an NPP lawmaker in 2016. Lim withdrew from the NPP in 2019, and got reelected as an independent legislator in 2020.

In March 2023, Lin announced he would not seek reelection as he had to take care of a family member who was suffering from a rare disease. He joined the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in November 2023.

As a lawmaker specializing in foreign affairs and national defense, he visited Europe and the United States many times, including visits to the Copenhagen Democracy Summit in Denmark and Oslo Freedom Forum in Norway.

Lim, 49, began his music career in his high school years as a guitar player in a band.

In 1995 in his second year at college, as he began identifying more strongly with Taiwanese identity, Lim set up heavy metal band Chthonic as the lead vocalist. The group has been dubbed "the Black Sabbath of Asia."

In 2020, The Guardian described Chthonic as "cultural ambassadors for Taiwan -- its history, myths and struggles."

Lim was also elected to lead Amnesty International Taiwan in 2010 and stepped down in 2014.