Police Forced To Intervene As Chinese Tourists Confront London Train Performer Over Livestream
A pianist slammed bizarre demands from a group of Chinese tourists who asked not to be filmed as he performed at a busy London train station, claiming they tried to get his video taken down, and police got involved.
Brendan Kavanagh was filming a livestream session of himself playing the piano at London’s St Pancras train station on Saturday (January 20) when his impressive performance was cut short by what appeared to be a group of Chinese tourists, as observed from their Chinese flags and red and yellow colored outfits.
Brendan, who regularly takes to the station to play boogie woogie tunes, was first approached by a woman belonging to the group, who informed him that they worked for a Chinese TV network before asking whether they appeared in his video.
Brendan Kavanagh slammed demands from a group of Chinese tourists who asked not to be filmed as he performed at London’s St Pancras train station
Image credits: Brendan Kavanagh
The lady went on to warn him that filming them “wasn’t allowed.” Soon after, the group of self-proclaimed TV workers gathered around Brendan, who repeatedly explained to them that he was allowed to film since they were in a public place.
According to the Metropolitan Police, members of the public and the media do not need a permit to film or photograph in public places, and police have no power to stop them from filming or photographing incidents or police personnel.
“We are in Great Britain. We are not in China,” the pianist was seen arguing as the group of Chinese visitors continued to demand their faces not be put in the video.
At some point, a man from the group stepped up and exclaimed: “This is our right that we are protecting.” He further explained: “We have an agreement with other people that we cannot be shown online.”
“We have an agreement with other people that we cannot be shown online,” a person from the Chinese group exclaimed
Image credits: Brendan Kavanagh
Brendan tried to resonate with the frustrated group, saying: “We are a free country. This is not communist China,” before suggesting the group “walk away [since] it’s a public space” if they did not want to appear in his livestream.
However, the musician’s plea fell on deaf ears, as the angered man from the Chinese group threatened: “We will put legal action to it. This is the end of the conversation,” before adding: “We are protecting our image right[s].”
With Brendan repetitively arguing against the group of travelers, stating, “The UK is a free country,” the situation soon escalated after the pianist was accused of “trying to touch” one of the female members of the group after he seemingly pointed to the Chinese flag she was holding.
Chinese tourists, as observed by their Chinese flags and red and yellow colored outfits, were filmed interrupting Brendan
Image credits: Brendan Kavanagh
The vocal male member of the group suddenly started screaming: “Why are you touching her? Stop touching her. Don’t touch her.”
He proceeded to add: “You are not the same age. Do not touch her.” The woman intervened and exclaimed: “Don’t shoot him. Don’t shoot him. What’s the problem?”
A very confused Brendan attempted once again to defend himself by saying he had only touched the flag, before repeatedly pointing to the small Chinese flags, which he claimed were communist flags.
According to the South China Morning Post, each star on the Chinese flag has its own meaning, with the largest one representing the Communist Party.
“We are a free country. This is not communist China,” Brendan responded
Image credits: Brendan Kavanagh
Nevertheless, one of the members of the group exclaimed that Brendan should “educate” himself, as the flag is not a flag for the communist party.
The flag of the Communist Party of China (CPC) consists of a yellow hammer and sickle in the upper-left corner, with a red colored background, symbolizing revolution, as per the 19th CPC National Congress.
The woman the pianist had allegedly touched said she was “here to celebrate the new year” and didn’t want to be filmed doing so.
The situation only took a turn for the worse when a pair of police officers approached the situation
Image credits: Brendan Kavanagh
A bystander eventually intervened and told the tourists to leave if they didn’t like being filmed. But the situation only took a turn for the worse when a pair of police officers approached the situation.
A member of the Chinese group was seen telling a male officer that the pianist had filmed them and had asked him to remove the footage, which he had refused.
However, the police officer echoed Brendan’s initial reaction as he exclaimed: “You’re in a public place.” A female officer reminded the cameraperson: “Excuse me, if we’re having a police matter, you need to put that phone down.”
The UK Rules state that the police have no power to stop people filming or photographing officers on duty. Recording film footage of a police incident or taking photographs of their actions is not illegal.
Image credits: Brendan Kavanagh
Brendan went on to address his livestream viewers, who have since grown to more than 4 million, as the officers started to side with the tourists. He said: “The Chinese communist party told us not to film here.”
The female police officer was filmed warning the musician: “This is not to go on your channel by the way. This is me talking to you.” Brendan promptly interrupted and said: “Listen, we’re in Britain. We’re in a public space. It’s a free country.”
The officer further explained: “The matter is they say you’ve been making communist comments at them.” Brendan went on to argue that he had only highlighted the fact that the group had been waving communist flags.
A police officer echoed Brendan’s initial reaction, as he exclaimed: “You’re in a public place”
Image credits: Brendan Kavanagh
The officer continued to ask the musician about the allegation that he tried to touch one of the tourists, which he immediately denied by saying: “I was not trying to touch her. That’s why I have a camera.”
The law enforcement said: “They [the tourists] have requested that the video where they approach gets deleted and is not used on your channel […]
“They work for a company, and their faces cannot be shown on TV or on somebody’s channel.”
The situation was finally put to rest as the group of Chinese tourists and the police officers left. Brendan was subsequently able to finish his livestream with more boogie-woogie songs after declaring: “Free speech prevails,” as per the DailyMail.
You can watch Brendan’s livestream below:
In a follow-up video posted shortly after, Brendan revealed that the Chinese Communist Party was “trying to get [the footage] taken down” and pleaded for his viewers to make a copy of his livestream.
On Monday (January 22), Brendan uploaded a separate video to update his viewers, where he announced he would be interviewed by Mike Graham on TalkTV.
Brendan has since gone on to reveal on TalkTV that he believed MI5, the UK’s domestic counter-intelligence and security agency, has since been involved.
“It’s pathetic,” a viewer commented about the incident
So the group positions itself clearly within camera range for at least 10 minutes, then members of the group walk straight up to the camera and microphone to protest against being filmed, which THEY maneuvered. If they merely wanted to listen undetected, they could have just stood behind the camera. The whole incident made no sense at all.
Agreed -- the tourists could have just inconspicuously moved out of the view of the camera and there would have been no drama. It seems to me that the tourists were scared that their identities would be viewed by Chinese authorities and there would be repercussions upon their return home -- I think that they had just panicked (e.g., exclaiming "Don't shoot him. Don't shoot him."). So, they had tried to get the video removed, but were not able/willing to articulate their reasons. Unfortunately for them, their actions had the opposite effect in that more attention was drawn to their situation and they were on camera much longer. I'm not agreeing with the tourists' position because I think that they should have done more to learn about customs and laws in Britain before visiting. Clearly, these tourists did not do their due diligence of researching what is appropriate in Britain -- and had tried to impose their own beliefs (erroneously citing that they are "laws") on a native.
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The irony is that they're in Britain and are being filmed by dozens of security cameras.
My first thought was "wait till they find out about all those CCTV cameras!"
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This is the Striesand Effect in full force. If they had stepped out of frame, or merely turned their backs no one…no one…would know who these idiots are. But now their images are splashed, World Wide, across the web. As much as the Chinese Government says it ignores bad press, I get the feeling these buffoons are going to be interviewed by serious men, in serious suits.
The "Streisand Effect"? I've never heard of that before.
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Just as China asks visitors to obey and respect its laws while in that country, so must visitors to the UK respect and obey UK laws: including the rights and freedoms of UK citizens in their own country. Sorry, Tour Group- if you don’t want to be filmed in a public place, move.
this attitude is very common among mainlander tourists, they will call you Lowai or foreigner, in your own country. This is only in recent years and I think it has to do with this CCP supremacy mentality they are pushing there. You do not find this among the Hong Kongers and the Taiwanese who are always very respectful when they visit.
Shouldn't this woman be heading back to Capitol City after picking out the next children to play in the Hunger Games? cap1-65afd...c503db.jpg 
Who else thinks the group made a stink on purpose, and that *their* video, highly edited, will be less than flattering to Mr. Kavanagh and to the UK and used as propoganda back home? That's the only reason I can think of that they would a) make a big deal about a non-issue, b) draw more attention to themselves when they claimed they wanted the opposite, and c) loudly claim he touched a woman when he clearly did not.
And who visits another country and strolls around watching public entertainment while waving flags? Not even Americans do that, but this group clearly meant to be noticed in a big way.
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They're not tourists - why do you assume that?
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the chinese guy is literally holding a phone on a stick and filming/photographing. I'm sorry, but in my experience, chinese tourists are always the worst for having complete disregard to locals and other tourists when travelling. Classic example was in York, blocking off the entire street/shop (the one with all the harry potter stuff) for ages, causing people to have to literally wait for them to finish their photos.
You can't say they are from china! What? That is a plain fact, which should be rather obvious, and merely mentioning it shouldn't be censored. The officer has gone of the rails on this on as static facts on its own is not being racist. It is when you start linking that to some irrelevant properties that the problems arise, e.g. if he had said: "They are Chineese so of course they are being stupid.". But that was not what was happening. However mixing up Japan and China wasn't really the best move, and saying they were communist, just because they are from a country with that type of government was a mistake too.
Well, if they want absolutely complete individual privacy, why don't they return to the People's Republic of China, which I understand has very strong views on that subject - and carries them out.
Don't want to be on camera? Enjoy going viral you absolute f****n morons.
English is a second language, and it didn't translate well. "You can't film" was taken too literally. Anyway, it's all over China and 87% of Chinese people agree that the Chinese man was not in the right. He should know better having a UK education. However, both are in the wrong, he should have considered the culture differences. The Chinese man is kind of a VIP in China and is used to people just doing as he says, he should be clever enough to realise that it doesn't apply outside of China. The British guy should have realised that the harsh statements were a result of bad translation. Both sides should just let it drop, what's a be achieved otherwise? It's already escalated to Embassy level, that's just ridiculous. And yes, take it off YouTube BUT we all know that it's IMPOSSIBLE to remove something from the internet, the more you yap on, the more copies appear. What's done is done, move on, and celebrate the Chinese New Year.
This is so bizarre. One of them is actually HOLDING a camera at the time. I can't watch the video so maybe I'm mistaken, but a Chinese gentleman is holding a camera in the second photo. So if they don't or can't be filmed why are they filming themselves? And why purposely walk into the line of the camera? Like everyone is saying, just walk away! This is the equivalent of someone searching out and going into a bar and then protesting that they are being offered alcohol. What morons.
Strange interaction. The problem seemed to start when the other guy who was playing started pointing out the camera and he started pointing it at the group - it changed the dynamic. If they're some kind of celebrities, maybe they thought they were being papped, or maybe there was some more serious political thing in play. They shouldn't have tried to make demands of course, and until then they wouldn't even have been recognisable, most likely (Streisand effect big time). Still, I dunno why Kavanaugh couldn't just have said, "OK, I'll cut this bit from the video before publishing" (I don't think streamers have the moral right to film strangers so it would have been simple politeness). He clearly got up on his dignity about it, and then the w***y-waving started. Clash of the Entitlements.
Asking politely to not be filmed is fine, and respecting people's privacy in that case the right thing to do... in most cases. But when you start saying "its our right" over and over again acting entitle when you do not know the rules of the country you are in, and is starting to confuse common decency with the law, then you are starting to put yourself in a position of trouble. ...And if you don't want to be filmed, don't stand in the background for several minutes. Mentioning that fact that they are chineese is not racist in this context, as it is obvious that this is a cultural clash of people from two societies that is structures very differently, and them trying to refer the rules of their home country in a place where they do not apply. But to be fair, that flag is the flag of China, and though China is a communist country as such, it isn't the flag of the communist party, and you can disagree with a country's current government, while still flying the flag of your nation. You e.g. still see American flags outside of Trump's fan's houses, despite them despising Joe Biden.
So it's not just a US thing. Cops not knowing the law. edit: a simple "p**s off" and ignoring them would have worked wonders
Difficult in the heat of the moment but nonetheless the best: always give them the under-reaction they deserve
Funny how different societies see „freedom“. I had to lough about the comment on “basic human rights”. Personally, I prefer my right to privacy and the right to NOT be filmed by strangers in a public space. “Human dignity shall be inviolable”
Then I suggest you stay indoors and never leave if you want to never be filmed or photographed.
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The fact that he was livestreaming in a public station makes him a tool, even it's legal.
In many instances in the UK (as in the US and EU) you do need people's consent to post/share videos and images of them. They were clearly confused about when consent forms need to be signed, but it isn't crazy. If he work3d for the station and was making up PR materials, consent would be required if they were identifiable. The lines aren't nearly as simple as commenters seem think. Same with some events, ticketed events have às oart of ticket ourchase that you consent for your ikeness to be used, but I ticketed events it's more complicated and depends on venue. Why would we expect a foreigner to understand the subtleties of the law? Both sides were way to aggressive.
So the group positions itself clearly within camera range for at least 10 minutes, then members of the group walk straight up to the camera and microphone to protest against being filmed, which THEY maneuvered. If they merely wanted to listen undetected, they could have just stood behind the camera. The whole incident made no sense at all.
Agreed -- the tourists could have just inconspicuously moved out of the view of the camera and there would have been no drama. It seems to me that the tourists were scared that their identities would be viewed by Chinese authorities and there would be repercussions upon their return home -- I think that they had just panicked (e.g., exclaiming "Don't shoot him. Don't shoot him."). So, they had tried to get the video removed, but were not able/willing to articulate their reasons. Unfortunately for them, their actions had the opposite effect in that more attention was drawn to their situation and they were on camera much longer. I'm not agreeing with the tourists' position because I think that they should have done more to learn about customs and laws in Britain before visiting. Clearly, these tourists did not do their due diligence of researching what is appropriate in Britain -- and had tried to impose their own beliefs (erroneously citing that they are "laws") on a native.
Load More Replies... The irony is that they're in Britain and are being filmed by dozens of security cameras.
My first thought was "wait till they find out about all those CCTV cameras!"
Load More Replies... This is the Striesand Effect in full force. If they had stepped out of frame, or merely turned their backs no one…no one…would know who these idiots are. But now their images are splashed, World Wide, across the web. As much as the Chinese Government says it ignores bad press, I get the feeling these buffoons are going to be interviewed by serious men, in serious suits.
The "Streisand Effect"? I've never heard of that before.
Load More Replies... Just as China asks visitors to obey and respect its laws while in that country, so must visitors to the UK respect and obey UK laws: including the rights and freedoms of UK citizens in their own country. Sorry, Tour Group- if you don’t want to be filmed in a public place, move.
this attitude is very common among mainlander tourists, they will call you Lowai or foreigner, in your own country. This is only in recent years and I think it has to do with this CCP supremacy mentality they are pushing there. You do not find this among the Hong Kongers and the Taiwanese who are always very respectful when they visit.
Shouldn't this woman be heading back to Capitol City after picking out the next children to play in the Hunger Games? cap1-65afd...c503db.jpg
Who else thinks the group made a stink on purpose, and that *their* video, highly edited, will be less than flattering to Mr. Kavanagh and to the UK and used as propoganda back home? That's the only reason I can think of that they would a) make a big deal about a non-issue, b) draw more attention to themselves when they claimed they wanted the opposite, and c) loudly claim he touched a woman when he clearly did not.
And who visits another country and strolls around watching public entertainment while waving flags? Not even Americans do that, but this group clearly meant to be noticed in a big way.
Load More Replies... They're not tourists - why do you assume that?
Load More Replies... the chinese guy is literally holding a phone on a stick and filming/photographing. I'm sorry, but in my experience, chinese tourists are always the worst for having complete disregard to locals and other tourists when travelling. Classic example was in York, blocking off the entire street/shop (the one with all the harry potter stuff) for ages, causing people to have to literally wait for them to finish their photos.
You can't say they are from china! What? That is a plain fact, which should be rather obvious, and merely mentioning it shouldn't be censored. The officer has gone of the rails on this on as static facts on its own is not being racist. It is when you start linking that to some irrelevant properties that the problems arise, e.g. if he had said: "They are Chineese so of course they are being stupid.". But that was not what was happening. However mixing up Japan and China wasn't really the best move, and saying they were communist, just because they are from a country with that type of government was a mistake too.
Well, if they want absolutely complete individual privacy, why don't they return to the People's Republic of China, which I understand has very strong views on that subject - and carries them out.
Don't want to be on camera? Enjoy going viral you absolute f****n morons.
English is a second language, and it didn't translate well. "You can't film" was taken too literally. Anyway, it's all over China and 87% of Chinese people agree that the Chinese man was not in the right. He should know better having a UK education. However, both are in the wrong, he should have considered the culture differences. The Chinese man is kind of a VIP in China and is used to people just doing as he says, he should be clever enough to realise that it doesn't apply outside of China. The British guy should have realised that the harsh statements were a result of bad translation. Both sides should just let it drop, what's a be achieved otherwise? It's already escalated to Embassy level, that's just ridiculous. And yes, take it off YouTube BUT we all know that it's IMPOSSIBLE to remove something from the internet, the more you yap on, the more copies appear. What's done is done, move on, and celebrate the Chinese New Year.
This is so bizarre. One of them is actually HOLDING a camera at the time. I can't watch the video so maybe I'm mistaken, but a Chinese gentleman is holding a camera in the second photo. So if they don't or can't be filmed why are they filming themselves? And why purposely walk into the line of the camera? Like everyone is saying, just walk away! This is the equivalent of someone searching out and going into a bar and then protesting that they are being offered alcohol. What morons.
Strange interaction. The problem seemed to start when the other guy who was playing started pointing out the camera and he started pointing it at the group - it changed the dynamic. If they're some kind of celebrities, maybe they thought they were being papped, or maybe there was some more serious political thing in play. They shouldn't have tried to make demands of course, and until then they wouldn't even have been recognisable, most likely (Streisand effect big time). Still, I dunno why Kavanaugh couldn't just have said, "OK, I'll cut this bit from the video before publishing" (I don't think streamers have the moral right to film strangers so it would have been simple politeness). He clearly got up on his dignity about it, and then the w***y-waving started. Clash of the Entitlements.
Asking politely to not be filmed is fine, and respecting people's privacy in that case the right thing to do... in most cases. But when you start saying "its our right" over and over again acting entitle when you do not know the rules of the country you are in, and is starting to confuse common decency with the law, then you are starting to put yourself in a position of trouble. ...And if you don't want to be filmed, don't stand in the background for several minutes. Mentioning that fact that they are chineese is not racist in this context, as it is obvious that this is a cultural clash of people from two societies that is structures very differently, and them trying to refer the rules of their home country in a place where they do not apply. But to be fair, that flag is the flag of China, and though China is a communist country as such, it isn't the flag of the communist party, and you can disagree with a country's current government, while still flying the flag of your nation. You e.g. still see American flags outside of Trump's fan's houses, despite them despising Joe Biden.
So it's not just a US thing. Cops not knowing the law. edit: a simple "p**s off" and ignoring them would have worked wonders
Difficult in the heat of the moment but nonetheless the best: always give them the under-reaction they deserve
Funny how different societies see „freedom“. I had to lough about the comment on “basic human rights”. Personally, I prefer my right to privacy and the right to NOT be filmed by strangers in a public space. “Human dignity shall be inviolable”
Then I suggest you stay indoors and never leave if you want to never be filmed or photographed.
Load More Replies... The fact that he was livestreaming in a public station makes him a tool, even it's legal.
In many instances in the UK (as in the US and EU) you do need people's consent to post/share videos and images of them. They were clearly confused about when consent forms need to be signed, but it isn't crazy. If he work3d for the station and was making up PR materials, consent would be required if they were identifiable. The lines aren't nearly as simple as commenters seem think. Same with some events, ticketed events have às oart of ticket ourchase that you consent for your ikeness to be used, but I ticketed events it's more complicated and depends on venue. Why would we expect a foreigner to understand the subtleties of the law? Both sides were way to aggressive.
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