“Among the new politicians voted into office, a stand-out was Freddy Lim Tshiong-tso, a man who might reasonably be described as the Nationalists’ worst nightmare. Born in 1976, and hence growing up with no memory of the martial law era, Lim ceased to follow the KMT party line during his school days, instead becoming an enthusiastic supporter of Taiwanese independence. He initially entered the public eye as the convenor of pro-independence rock concerts, and would eventually serve as the head of Taiwan’s branch of Amnesty International, and a key figure in the Sunflower movement.

“Throughout the late 1990s and the early years of the 21st century, he was also the lead singer of the death-metal band Chthonic, releasing a series of politically charged works, including a concept album about the 1930 Musha Incident (2005, Seediq Bale), allusions to the February 1947 unrest as an earthly manifestation of Hell (2009, Mirror of Retribution), and an album dedicated to the conflicted loyalties of indigenous soldiers serving in the WWII Japanese military (2011, Takasago Army).

“Donning a suit instead of his habitual leathers and tribal face-paint, Lim became one of the founders of the New Power Party, and proved to be enough of a diplomat to shoo away other DPP-leaning candidates in a western Taipei suburban district, where he defeated the KMT incumbent. He then aligned his New Power Party, its emblem in stark Sunflower-yellow, broadly within the ‘Green’ policies of the victorious DPP.”

– excerpted from Rebel Island, by Jonathan Clements.

And now he is Taiwan’s new envoy to the world’s most metal country, Finland.