On Sunday afternoon I dropped by the Taichung Thinkers Corner to listen to Freddy Lim and Hung Tz-yung, sister of the Corporal Hung whose death at the hands of his military masters provoked massive protests in Taipei, speak about their new political party, the New Power (時代力量) Party. Freddy Lim is best known as the leader of the metal band Chthonic, but he is also a passionate advocate of things Taiwan.
Lim did most of the talking, discussing how getting into politics necessitated overcoming of the fear of politics. How no one talks about politics for fear of being criticized. He said he had to persuade Hung to enter politics, but really, in a way when he presented his arguments to her, he was persuading himself.
Of the two I was more impressed with Hung. Lim is a seasoned performer and comfortable with people and crowds. Hung is an obvious novice, yet see she did very well. She spoke without hesitation or backtracking, sharp and very strong and articulate. She seemed an authentic Taiwan woman, strong and purposeful, radicalized by the brutality of the State that killed her brother and then punished only the underlings for it. She was dressed in a very down-home Taiwanese way, a dull pink sweater top that was just a shade younger than something old Auntie might wear.
Lim said that the plan to focus on international relations and Taiwan’s space, military law, and indigenous rights, among others. Also culture and education.
They are a good example of some of the changes that are sweeping across Taiwan, which hopefully several of us will be writing more on in the coming weeks. Things are percolating rapidly here…
Below are images of the handouts they presented at the meeting, with bios of the four candidates and the party manifesto, all in Chinese.
