Dr K Vs. The Chinese Communists - Interview On TalkTV

Summary

In a striking encounter at a London train station, British musician Brandon Kavanagh faces off against members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) while filming a piano performance. The situation escalates as CCP activists demand Kavanagh to cease filming, accusing him of racism for asserting his freedom in the UK. British Transport Police de-escalate the incident, which has since gone viral, sparking discussions on public filming rights, authoritarianism, and the clash between individual freedoms and collective image rights. The episode highlights cultural conflicts, the power of social media, and the tensions between UK freedoms and foreign sensibilities.

Takeaways

• 😲 British musician Brandon Kavanagh was confronted and harassed by Chinese Communist Party members for filming himself playing piano at a London train station
• 😠 The Chinese activists tried to stop Kavanagh from filming and accused him of racism when he said the UK is a free country
• 😯 The video went viral, creating an international diplomatic incident with China
• 🤨 Kavanagh knew the activists were from the Chinese Communist Party because they were waving party flags
• 😠 The activists weaponized political correctness against Kavanagh by falsely accusing him of racism
• 👮‍♂️ Police arrived and diffused the situation, taking the racism accusation seriously
• 🎹 Kavanagh often plays piano in public places without asking permission as a form of musical protest
• 😡 The shouting Chinese activist was not used to being told 'no' and reacted angrily when Kavanagh stood up to him
• 💪 Kavanagh says people need to stand up more to stupid rules and authoritarian demands
• 😮 The incident reveals an unholy alliance between Chinese authoritarianism and Western political correctness

Q & A

Why was Brandon Kavanau confronted while playing piano at the train station?

He was confronted by a group of Chinese Communist Party members for filming his piano playing. They demanded he stop filming and accused him of racism when he said they were not in communist China.

What did the Chinese activists claim they were trying to protect?

They claimed they were protecting their own image rights and did not want Kavanau filming or sharing images of them.

How did Kavanau know the activists were from the Chinese Communist Party?

The girl told him they were from a Chinese TV station, and they were waving communist flags.

What does Professor Eric Kauffman say the incident shows?

He says it shows the coming together of Chinese authoritarianism and Western progressive authoritarianism, using accusations like racism to silence dissent.

Why does Kavanau say he was just standing up for his rights?

He felt the Chinese activists were trying to restrict his freedoms and what he could film in a public place in Britain, which he saw as unacceptable overreach.

How did the police who arrived on scene respond?

The police told Kavanau he couldn't refer to the activists as Chinese because it was unacceptable and racist.

How often does Kavanau play piano in public places?

He says he plays in public places with pianos often, enjoying the spontaneity and lack of needing permission.

How did the incident with the Chinese activists end?

The police walked away after realizing they didn't have grounds to make Kavanau stop filming, and the Chinese activists also left the scene.

What does Kavanau want viewers to do now?

He wants people to watch and share the YouTube video of the incident before the Chinese government tries to get it removed.

Why is Kavanau glad he filmed and live-streamed the incident?

He says if he just told the story without footage, no one would believe the confrontation happened as he described it.

Outlines

00:00

😡 Heated Altercation Between British Musician and Chinese CCP Members

Paragraph 1 describes an incident where British musician Brandon Kavanau was harassed by Chinese Communist Party members while playing piano at a London train station. They confront him for filming and accuse him of racism. The interaction becomes heated as Kavanau proclaims Britain's freedom.

05:01

😕 Back and Forth Arguments About Rights and Rules Between Kavanau and CCP Members

Paragraph 2 details further arguments between Kavanau and the CCP members about rights, rules, and permissions around filming and privacy in public spaces. Kavanau questions the authoritarian behavior.

10:03

👮 Diffusing the Situation and Making a Stir

Paragraph 3 describes how the situation was diffused by British police. The video brought global attention, going viral and creating a diplomatic incident. Kavanau plans to continue playing music publicly.

Keywords

💡authoritarianism

Authoritarianism refers to a form of government characterized by absolute obedience to authority and lack of individual freedom and principles. In the video, it is used to describe the demands of the Chinese group who wanted to control the filming at the train station. The Chinese man accused the musician of racism when questioned, weaponizing authoritarian principles to get his way, similar to the progressive authoritarianism sometimes seen in the West.

💡racism

Racism refers to discrimination or prejudice based on race. In the video, the Chinese group accuses the musician of racism simply for asking if they were from China. The racism accusation is used as a weapon to try to control the filming, knowing that the police would take it seriously.

💡free country

A free country is one where individual liberties and democratic governance are respected. The musician appeals to being in a free country to argue against the Chinese group's demands, contrasting it with lack of freedoms in communist China.

💡communist China

Communist China refers to China as governed by the Communist Party with strict authoritarian control and lack of individual freedom. The musician argues they are not in communist China so should not have to follow the demands of the Chinese group.

💡YouTube star

A YouTube star is someone who gains popularity and fame through videos shared on YouTube. Ironically, the shouting Chinese man in the video has now become a YouTube star due to the conflict being filmed and shared widely.

💡diplomatic incident

A diplomatic incident refers to a dispute between representatives of two countries. The musician claims the conflict has created a diplomatic incident with China, as the Chinese Communist Party tried to get the viral video removed.

💡progressive authoritarianism

Progressive authoritarianism refers to left-leaning authoritarian policies and control, often aimed at enforcing political correctness. The Chinese group's tactics are compared to progressive authoritarianism sometimes seen in the West.

💡weaponize

To weaponize means to use something as a weapon or means of attack. The video claims the Chinese man weaponized accusations of racism, knowing it would pressure the British police to respond.

💡privacy

Privacy refers to being free from unauthorized intrusion or surveillance. The Chinese group bizarrely demands privacy while filming in a crowded public place, becoming upset at being filmed themselves.

💡freedom

Freedom refers to individual liberties like free speech, movement, etc. The musician appeals to freedom and not requiring permission to film or play music in asserting his rights.

Highlights

British musician harassed for filming piano set at train station by Chinese Communist Party members

Chinese activists tell musician to stop filming and accuse him of racism when he says Britain is a free country

Video of incident goes viral; Chinese man becomes YouTube star after confrontation

Guest speculates British intelligence agency MI5 may be involved due to international incident created

Chinese authorities tried to weaponize claims of racism to silence musician's filming

Coming together of Chinese authoritarianism and Western progressive authoritarianism in incident

Anything construed as racist by most sensitive person enough to condemn someone

Chinese citizens told guest they have rights and he doesn't; he bristles at enforcement of pointless rules

Guest says too many musicians ask permission instead of embracing spontaneity

Guest attracted to public interactions and not following rules strictly

Chinese individuals wanted privacy in public station with thousands of people

Shouty Chinese man not used to being told no; stood up to him

Unpacking overlap between Chinese authoritarianism and Western progressive institutional authoritarianism

Chinese citizens questioned guest aggressively as if he was in detention camp

Incident went viral globally, created diplomatic stir

Transcripts

back to the independent republic of Mike

Graham a fresh round was erupting

tonight after a British musician was

harassed for filming a piano set in some

panas train station YouTube appeared as

Brandon kavanau was tinkling the ivories

at the London train station when he was

confronted by a group of Chinese

Communist party members the interaction

gets heated when the activists tell

kavanau to stop filming then accuse him

of racism when he proclaims that Britain

is a free country and that we are not in

communist China have a look at

this oh okay yeah we will put a legal

action we will I'm sorry this is the end

of the conversation this is our right we

protecting and that's it but what right

I don't understand image Right image

right yeah we're not sharing this image

are you from China I I that's not a

question we the only thing we are

arguing is that we are protecting our

own image right you're not sharing but

this we're in public yeah exactly no no

sharing so we're not allowed no sharing

yes no sharing us sharing yourself

that's fine no sharing us okay no Shar

please share me I'll share you so and if

one day the thing is we're in a I'm

really sorry we're on a schedule here me

too but we're in a free country mate

that's true communist China now you know

oh I'm sorry this is racist now we have

no we're not in communist China we're in

a

country we're in a free country mate we

can film where we want you can call the

police if you want I'll be quite happy

to call the police you know but listen

we're all free here mate this is free

but um in a statement the British

transport police say we are aware of a

video circulating social media of a

disagreement in St frankis railway

station on Friday the 19th of January

officers on patrol came across the

incident and the situation was

deescalation uh the video of the

incident has now gone viral and about

the cent of it Brendon kard joins me

right now as well as Professor Eric

calman from The Faculty of Common Sense

God knows we need some of that from the

University of Buckingham Brendan welcome

to the show thank you very much the

independent republic of mik grah very

different from the Independent the

People's Republic People's Republic

um what an extraordinary event I mean

first of all I have to say to the guy

I'm afraid um we're not in you know you

are you from China is definitely a

question even though he doesn't seem to

think it is um they were how did you

know they were from the Chinese

Communist party they were waving flags

right well they were obviously waving

communist flags and the the the girl

came up to me and she said oh we're from

a Chinese TV station so obviously

they're going to have connections with

the

CCP and uh it just got very heated when

I started questioning him clearly this

guy was used to being a bade yeah all

right and I what were they worried about

you filming you were just filming

yourself playing well they they were

extra this was What's called the strien

effect which I've just recently learned

about when you try and keep something

secret and by trying keeping it secret

it's actually blown he's this guy the

shouty guy has become a YouTube Star you

know um and they were waving around

disclosure things in China said no no

film disclosure and I said what you're

talking about I haven't deci you know

and uh basic basically he just made a

fuss about nothing and now he's a

YouTube star and now we created an

international diplomatic incident with

the Chinese and I do believe that MI5

are involved yes well I would be

surprised I mean Eric this is quite an

extraordinary tale I mean on the face of

it when I first saw it this afternoon I

this was ridiculous and um we managed to

get Bron to come in but it is mad isn't

it where people uh from another country

can come here I mean you said at one

point to him um well imagine if I'd gone

into China and decided to start telling

people in China what they could F I know

he wanted to turn pan into the People's

Republic of St panras and I thought no

no way we're we're in London he was

obviously used to being a b and some CH

some Chinese people have said if if some

if he were shouted at that like that in

China you'd be taken off to the camps

and you know because that shout puts the

fear of God in you playing a Pian again

Eric I mean uh is this kind of thing

common I mean do people from um the

Chinese government television agency go

around London filming things which

nobody's allowed to see well I'm not

aware of that I I know in in different

countries there is a sense in which you

can't necessarily film in public but I

think what's interesting about this case

with Brendan is that you've got the

coming together of Chinese State

authoritarianism with woke Progressive

authoritarianism right so they he was

first of all accused of racism they knew

to accuse them of racist because they

knew in this society that suddenly Keys

into Progressive authoritarianism and

then the police came in and took that

very seriously because that's the

highest value in society I'm pretty sure

that being accused of racism when you've

just said are you from China it's not

really racist to say are you from China

is it not at all not at all but the fact

that anything which could be construed

by the most sensitive person on the

planet as being racist is enough to put

you in the dark and that's the way this

ideology operates and they it's

interesting that the Chinese even the

CCP people know that they can weaponize

I mean there's and they do this all the

time I mean in Canada for example again

where I'm from you know the Canadian go

Canadian government and a bunch of

activists were stupid enough to call

Canada's treatment of the native people

people genocide so when when the

International Community in Canada says

oh you're committing atrocities against

the Wagers they'll just turn around and

say oh you look at how you treat

your native people and that's the end of

the story so we are kind of useful

idiots for these people well that's true

and terms of how it all sort of ended I

mean you play the piano a lot in in St

Pacers don't you because we had you on

um not when you were on in person but a

few weeks ago you had a problem with

with some of the police they trying to

close the piano lid on you I mean

generally I don't go look for problems

you know but the thing how often do you

go and play the piano then oh I just go

one it's not just in St Pancras you know

it's wherever there's public pianos I'm

all about live music I mean I like uh

unscripted and not asking for permission

you know I think there's too too many

musicians who ask for permission it's

all becoming a bit tame so I'm a bit

edgy I I do public interactions I do

spontaneity and um sometimes the guards

don't like it because uh you know I

might not follow the rules or I might

move the piano slightly and uh I just

when somebody tried ni to enforce a

pointless rule I don't know something of

my nature I just bristle you know what I

mean well there is something weird about

it isn't it they put a piano out there

for somebody to play and then if you

start playing it they tell you to stop

playing it well well it's kind of a

weird development in our societ you know

I think it's just people want to ask you

have to ask permission for everything

you know what I mean and this Chinese

guy the shouty guy what I know if you

watch that video it's all about their

rights my right our rights and it's all

about what I couldn't do and what they

could do and I thought hold on this

whole thing is about your rights my

rights my rights and you can't do this

and I thought blim me we are in London

Town and I've got a bunch of Chinese

people from the Communist Party telling

me what I can't do and I kind of just

the old British uh

Instinct I used to find this I used to

live in New York and they used to film a

lot in streets in Manhattan streets you

know and they'd have all these Runners

people who would be wearing those you

know those kind of Ghostbusters once

filming and they'd wear those those kind

of you know jackets with Ghostbusters

written on the back and they have some

walkie-talkies and they stop you from

walking and they go no you can't go down

there well I'm going that's where I'm

walking this is you know my city I live

here I'm walking down 57 Street whether

you like it or not we're filming I'm

like I couldn't care less you know I'm

walking you know and I agree with you

that you you shouldn't be stopped from

and also they can't buy you know if they

want to buy some panr station and close

it off and film just for themselves I'm

sure there's a price for that but you

can't do it in public expect nobody the

thing is they wanted complete privacy in

a station where there was thousands of

people

and uh you know that everyone's there

filming and uh they want complete

privacy they don't want anyone filming

them they don't want to be known and

they were going around waving these

yellow Chinese anti-is things and they

said it's an extremely sensitive issue

the guy he's very very sensitive I mean

for goodness sake now he's a YouTube

star and also he went a YouTube Star now

he's been recognizing the street the the

other great one baby yeah the other

great one was I'm on a schedule like you

care yeah I know on a schedule I said

yeah I'm on a schedule too and then when

I questioned him again oh he he suddenly

started shouting at me again the shouty

bit you know so it was a comedy of

errors but it raises a lot of serious

issues do about stupid rules

authoritarianism and also um you know

our own British culture how we've got to

stand up to stupidity and just say no

you know not scared this this is the

Brilliance of Brendan is we need more

people like Bron defend our

freedoms play piano so that's one thing

this show is full of people so how did

it end did you leave the station before

they did well how it ended uh krie the

the the the British the the piece the

British transport police lady was gave

me a really hard time she thought she

was my mom and she said I'm not allowed

to say that they're from China because

that was unacceptable she told me I

wasn't allowed to film her uh talking to

me I wasn't allowed to do and I just got

sick of it and eventually she didn't

have her a leg to stand on and she just

walked off and they all walked off and

they all walked off and they all walked

off and we just continued so it was a

basically uh storm in the teacup caused

by the fact that I said no to the

Chinese Communist demands simple as that

will rise up against I wonder where

they're I wonder where they're going to

be tomorrow who the Chinese they're

probably back in I don't know I think

they're only they were only here I me

the irony thing that all these Chinese

people they were in the station they

were all wearing red yeah the girl was

dressed up in a red costume they were

waving red flags and they said we don't

want anyone to look at us and no one to

film us well then don't do it in public

like hello hire a studio you know what I

mean I mean they they could have hired a

studio and just put a green screen up

and pretended they were in King's cross

exactly or they could have worn masks

and B

clavas that would have been well

Mar free pales I mean that that would

that would have exactly you know but the

point is um when the guy the guy

obviously wasn't used to being told no

right and when I stood up to him he said

what's your name who are you and he was

questioning me like we were back in

China I was in the camp I mean to be

fair totally I thought oh my goodness I

feel sorry Chinese be fa there's plenty

of people though in this country who

behave like that as as as you saw before

you know there's plenty of people that

bad that not as bad as that not as bad

you will get people asking you questions

and saying you can't go there can't go

that way can't go this way true you know

isn't it well that's the point that this

the Chinese State authoritarianism and

the kind of progressive institutional

authoritarianism coming out of the West

have certain areas of overlap don't it's

an Unholy wedlock between political

correctness and authoritarianism and

that Chinese guy the shy guy weaponized

it he know he he used the r word you

know you're once you say you're racist

then the British police just melt you

know they just melt and you didn't end

up in the back of a police van you're re

you're reck yeah you know non- crime

hate incident yeah non crime hate

incident I know I know but it was so lud

because look I'm just glad Mike that I

actually had it filmed because if I told

if I narrated this people would wouldn't

believe me but the fact that it was on a

live stream we live streamed the video

it was completely spontaneous and now

the world has seen it if I had narrated

this no one would have believed they

wouldn't believe it and they can watch

it on YouTube should they so wish

absolutely watch it on YouTube it's gone

all over the world now I've got people

in Taiwan using it I've got people in

Hong Kong using it I'm on Fox news

tomorrow this is this has created a

diplomatic uh incident with the CCP CC

the CCP are trying to get it removed and

CCP YouTube have left it up right we are

fighting to keep the video up go and

watch the video they want to take it

down everyone go to YouTube and watch it

and spread it because the CCP have sent

in a privacy complaint it's not going

down baby we're keeping it up very good

great to see you uh Bry kevar we're

gonna have you back I think Eric in a

little while so thank you very much to D

for coming in keep up with good work um

where are you gonna be playing tomorrow

I think I'm having a week I'm keeping

low Prof yeah leave the country for a

while you're watching the independent

republic Mike gra coming up after the

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