駐芬蘭代表處以重金屬音樂 加?國際關係
Taiwan Builds International Relationships with Heavy Metal Music

If you like to listen to heavy metal music (重金屬樂)…

Or if you read news about politics…

Then you probably know who Freddy Lim (林昶佐) is.

But in case you didn't know, Freddy Lim is Taiwan's representative to
Finland.

林昶佐就是台灣駐芬蘭代表處長。

And… he's also in a heavy metal band called Chthonic.

He's famous in Taiwan because of these two things, but he also helped start a
political party (創立了政黨).

Now, in his job in Finland, he's trying to build international relationships
in different ways.

His office recently had an event (活動) in Finland that invited Taiwanese and
Finnish heavy metal bands to have a concert together.

The event was called "F:F:F-Formosa:Finland:Fest."

Lim and his band, also known as (閃靈) in Mandarin, performed.

Other Taiwanese bands Crescent Lament (恆月三途) and Flesh Juicer
(血肉果汁機) also performed.

Lim says that many Finnish politicians (芬蘭的政治人物) participated in the
event.

But he says that before, many of these politicians were not interested in
Taiwan-related activities.

Lim says that the concert is a new way for Taiwan to make diplomatic
connections (外交關係).

He says it's different from traditional diplomacy.

Lim took office as the new Taiwanese representative to Finland in July.

Some people thought it was a strange choice because he had never had a job
like that before.

But other people thought that Lim would be well-suited to the job, since
Finland really likes heavy metal music.

林昶佐今年七月就任，當時有些人覺得他缺乏外交經驗，不適合這份工作，但是也有人覺得他是恰當人選，因?芬蘭有活躍的重金屬音樂文化。

He says that he was really nervous when he first started his new job.

But he says that now, he's more confident, and has gotten used to it.

Either way, it's certainly a new way of doing diplomacy!
______________________________

In this episode's Bite-Sized Break, we hear from 10 year old Darren from Tur
Ya Kur Elementary and Junior High School in New Taipei City.

Take it away, Darren!

***BITE-SIZED BREAK***
________________________________
90歲的阿祖終於大學畢業了！
90 year-old great grandmother graduates from college

Have you ever heard the saying "you can't teach an old dog new tricks?"

Basically, it means that it's hard for older people to learn new things.

But today's news story shows that it's never too late to learn something new!

In Ireland, a very old woman graduated from college (大學畢業) for the first
time.

She was 90 years old when she graduated.

Maryette McFarland graduated from the Open University 70 years after she
started college.

She now has a degree (學歷) in English Literature.

She started university in Dublin, Ireland in the 1960s.

But then she got married and stopped going to college.

Maryette says that she can hardly believe that she finally graduated.

She was the oldest of more than 300 people to graduate at her ceremony
(畢業典禮).

Even though it took a few years, Maryette went back to study.

She said she had some extra time while she was getting better after a car
accident (車禍).

Maryette wanted to use her free time to do something important.

She said that studying online was hard at times, but her family- like her
kids, grandkids, and great grandkids- were very helpful.

She also had a nice tutor to help her.

Maryette's daughter went to the graduation ceremony to support her.

She said she was very proud of her mom for finishing her degree.

She added that her mom always regretted (遺憾) that she didn't finish her
degree when she was younger.

But she had four kids and a busy life.

So she finally had the opportunity to finish her degree when she was a bit
older.

And Maryette has some advice for anyone who thinks they're too old to learn
new things.

She says, if she can do it, anyone can!

活到老，學到老！
________________________________

So, in today's News Bites:

Taiwan's representative to Finland holds a big concert to bring together
Taiwanese and Finnish heavy metal bands.

Freddy Lim is the Taiwanese representative to Finland, but he also is in a
heavy metal band.

It's a unique opportunity to promote Taiwan and build more relationships with
other countries.

And…

A 90 year old great grandmother graduates from college.

Maryette McFarland started her degree 70 years ago but she got busy and
wasn't able to finish it… until now.

She says, it's never too late to learn something new!

________________________________
News Flash

In this episode's News Flash, our vocab word is "exchange."

This word can be both a verb and a noun.

As a noun, it means trading things from two different people or countries.

For example, the concert held by the Taiwanese representative office in
Finland is a form of exchange between the two countries.

That word would be called (交流) in Mandarin.

And, as a verb, it means to trade something.

That, we would call (交換).

If you have a fun fact or a joke you'd like to share with us, record your
message and send us your Bite-Sized Break to newsbites@icrt.com.tw, and you
might hear it in an episode!

We'll see you next time for an exciting new episode of News Bites!

20260105NB.mp3