The Taiwanese Is Easy To Get, Heavy Metal Singer-Turned-Lawmaker Freddy Lim Says

Taiwan Church News
3429 Edition
November 13 – 19, 2017
Church Ministry

The Taiwanese Is Easy To Get, Heavy Metal Singer-Turned-Lawmaker Freddy Lim Says

Reported by Chen Yi-hsuan

In the evening on November 8, Mr Freddy Lim, the famous heavy metal singer-turned-lawmaker, was invited to share his personal stories and thoughts on the subject of mother tongue at Suan Lien Presbyterian Church. Jointly organized by Li Kang Khioh Culture & Education Foundation and Promote Taiwan’s Mother Tongue Committee of PCT General Assembly, this speech was one of a lecture series entitled “The Taiwanese is easy to get!”.

Criticizing KMT government’s shameless robbery of his rights to speak mother tongue before he turned 18-year-old, Freddy shares the stories how his own mother tongue, the Taiwanese, affected his growth during childhood and teenage, heavy metal song-writing and current role as a father to a toddler daughter.

Illustrating his personal story of hating to speak the Taiwanese, after entrance into the primary school with a compulsive policy to speak the mandarin in the classroom and on the public, Freddy recalled that he had never been aware of this unjust language phenomenon until he started his campus life in the college. “Language is not just an issue about hearing and speaking at its prima facie outlook, our values, thoughts and livings are all deeply entangled together”, Freddy remarks.

Talking on the issue of singing the Taiwanese song in his heavy metal music, Freddy shares his observation that this is secret why his heavy metal musical band, Chthonic, is so unique and highly welcome among European fans. Because it is the specific rhythm and lyrics inherent of the Taiwanese, which is absolutely amazing and never experienced in western heavy metal music, making the musics of his Cthonic band so distinctly different and popular in western music circles, Freddy says.

On the learning of the Taiwanese, Freddy urges the audience to speak and practise more. Even on the internet, there are many resources to learn the Taiwanese, Freddy says. Since his duaghter is born, Freddy always communicates with her in the Taiwanese and now also trys to locate a kindergarten speaking the Taiwanese to educate her beloved baby.

As a lawmaker and a father, Freddy hopes to help promote more Taiwanese TVs, radio stations and educational institutes set up in the future to enable next generation and his daughter being able to speak mother tongue fluently in a great confidence!

Translated by Peter Wolfe

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