Taiwan's representative to Finland explores heavy metal diplomacy

Helsinki Nov. 29 (CNA) Freddy Lim (林昶佐), Taiwan's representative to Finland, has successfully built connections with local politicians through a joint heavy metal concert with Finnish bands in Helsinki on Thursday.

At "F:F:F-Formosa:Finland:Fest," held Thursday at Tiivistämö, Lim and the full Chthonic (閃靈) crew -- including his wife Doris Yeh (葉湘怡), leader and bassist of their heavy metal band -- were joined by Taiwanese bands Crescent Lament (恆月三途) and Flesh Juicer (血肉果汁機), along with three Finnish heavy metal or folk-metal bands.

A Reddit post featuring a video of Lim's performance has collected 52,000 likes and over 800 comments within 16 hours.

In an interview with CNA, Lim said the event drew unusually strong participation from Finnish politicians, many of whom had previously shown little interest in Taiwan-related activities.

"Every time we invited them to our events, they always said they could not attend or simply didn't reply," he recalled.

The representative office was therefore surprised when many of those who had declined in the past confirmed their attendance.

"Some even asked a week before the event if they could bring more friends," Lim said.

Describing the concert as part of Taiwan's evolving diplomatic strategy, Lim said it built a bridge connecting Taiwan and the world through sensibility rather than sense.

The event was organized by Taiwan's General Association of Chinese Culture, with support from the foreign and culture ministries.

Lim, 49, served two terms as a lawmaker between 2016 and 2024. He co-founded the New Power Party before joining the ruling Democratic Progressive Party in November 2023. Before entering politics, he was known for being a member of Chthonic.

Lim said the representative office conducted detailed research on guests' interests and tailored its invitations accordingly to broaden the event beyond traditional diplomacy.

"If you love music, we told you which metal bands were coming; if you are into fashion, we told you which Taiwanese designers were involved," he said.

Lim has faced questions about his lack of diplomatic experience and acknowledged that he was nervous when he assumed the representative post in late July.

But he said he has gradually found his rhythm, as local politicians have started inviting him to new heavy metal bars or sharing concert information with him.

In what he described as the "heavy metal capital of the world," Lim said he found in music a natural expression of his diverse identities and leveraged it for diplomacy.

Asked to comment on Lim's unusual heavy metal background and mix of heavy metal with diplomacy, Samy Elbanna of Lost Society, one of the Finnish bands performing at the event, said it was interesting because Finland is the only place on earth where this may happen.