British pianist Brendan Kavanagh on Monday held up Taiwan’s national flag during a livestream after having an altercation with a group of Chinese last month.
When Kavanagh, who goes by the name Dr K Boogie Woogie on social media, was recording a livestream from St Pancras International station in London on Jan. 19, a group of Chinese standing in the background loudly insisted that they not be filmed, saying their portrait rights should be protected.
The Chinese, who were holding Chinese flags when the incident occured, said that they would take legal action if their faces and voices were shown online.
Photo: Screen grab from Brendan Kavanagh’s Facebook page
Kavanagh refused to listen, saying the station is a public place.
“We are in a free country, we can film where we want,” he said.
The public piano Kavanagh played, donated by Elton John, was later cordoned off by British authorities due to the incident, he wrote on Facebook on Jan. 25.
After the piano was reopened to the public, Kavanagh held up Taiwan’s flag during a livestream at the station on Monday, saying: “I’m supporting Taiwan.”
Kavanagh then posted a photograph on Facebook of him standing on the piano stool holding up the flag.
It received supportive messages from Taiwanese and others, including Democratic Progressive Party Taipei City Councilor Vincent Chao (趙怡翔), who wrote: “Keep fighting the good fight!”
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hung Mong-kai (洪孟楷) wrote that “The ROC [republic of China] flag symbolizes liberty, equality and philanthropy,” and Kaohsiung Department of Tourism director-general Kao Min-lin (高閔琳) thanked Kavanagh for his support.
“Awesome to see friends demonstrating support for #Taiwan in the #UK & giving a shout-out to our peace-loving people,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) wrote on X yesterday.
Wu invited Kavanagh to visit Taiwan “to celebrate love for music & freedom of expression in a place where #China ALSO holds zero jurisdiction!”
Hsiao said that the ministry welcomes people from all over the world who support democracy and freedom to support Taiwan.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
The New Taipei City Government would assist relatives of those killed or injured in last month’s car-ramming incident in Sansia District (三峽) to secure compensation, Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said yesterday, two days after the driver died in a hospital. “The city government will do its best to help the relatives of the car crash incident seek compensation,” Hou said. The mayor also said that the city’s Legal Affairs, Education and Social Welfare departments have established a joint mechanism to “provide coordinated assistance” to victims and their families. Three people were killed and 12 injured when a car plowed into schoolchildren and their
RSS