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CHTHONIC Frontman Meets DALAI LAMA For First Time As Taiwanese Legislator

September 10, 2016

Freddy Lim, human rights activist and youth culture advocate, was elected to the Taiwanese Parliament in January of 2016. He is the lead vocalist of CHTHONIC, a metal band with six popular studio albums that has won the Taiwan's Golden Melody awards, Golden Music Awards and best international artist for Tibet in Tibet Music Awards. Lim also received Taiwan's Presidential Cultural Award and was voted as one of the world's best lead vocalists by metal and rock magazines in Japan and Europe. He has toured the U.S. as well — on a headline tour and on Ozzfest. Throughout his career and worldwide travels, he has been outspoken regarding human rights issues, environmental issues, cultural policy, transitional justice, and other social issues. He served as chair of Amnesty International Taiwan for four years.

On January 16, 2016, he was elected as a member of the Taiwanese parliament, making him the first metal star to become a parliamentarian. The new political party that he co-founded, the New Power Party (NPP),won five seats and became the third largest party in Taiwan's national legislature. Now he is Vice President of the Taiwan-USA Inter-Parliamentary Amity Association and chairman of Taiwan Parliament for Tibet.

On September 5, Lim travelled to Dharamsala, an Indian town in the Himalayan foothills, to meet with the Dalai Lama. This was Freddy's third meeting with the Tibetan Nobel Laureate and spiritual leader but the first as a member of the Taiwanese Parliament. The other two meetings were when he was the lead vocalist for metal band CHTHONIC in 2008 and 2009.

The meeting with His Holiness is to launch Freddy's cross-party group, the Taiwan Parliamentary Group for Tibet which will be focusing on raising awareness and creating activism for human rights initiatives around the globe, but specifically Tibet.

"The people of Taiwan have always been concerned with human rights violations in Tibet. However, the government has kept quiet about abuses," he said. "As the civil society and our younger generation gain more influence, it is time for Taiwan to strengthen its participation for human rights on the world stage and building trust and friendship with the people of Tibet is our way to begin."

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