A Public Performance Becomes a Political Confrontation
A high school student playing YOASOBI's song Gunjo at Tainan railway station on October 20 was interrupted by a man singing China's national anthem while livestreaming on his phone. After finishing the performance, the student turned toward the camera and shouted support for Taiwan and the Republic of China, prompting the man to stumble over his response.
Contents
The encounter took place at a public piano in the newly opened station. The instrument, a Yamaha bought secondhand about 40 years ago, had reached the station just days earlier through a donation by the family of former Tainan police chief Wang Wen-chung.
The student shared footage on Threads and said the man repeatedly disrupted the performance. Witnesses described a longer disturbance that continued after the student left, with another pianist becoming the target of remarks before railway police arrived.
The man's nationality and motive remain unconfirmed. Details of the police response come from witness accounts, while the student's posts include footage of officers attending the scene. No official police statement explaining the handling of the incident accompanied those accounts.
What Happened Beside the Piano?
The student was playing Gunjo, a song by the Japanese group YOASOBI, when the man approached with his phone. According to the student, he interrupted repeatedly and sang China's national anthem alongside the performance.
A witness described the man pulling a suitcase and singing at a rhythm that did not match the piano music. The witness also said he boasted about being the first person to sing China's national anthem at Tainan station.
The student nevertheless completed the piece and stood to acknowledge the audience. At that point, the man addressed the viewers watching his livestream, praising the young musician.
The man holding the phone told his audience:
This kid is amazing, brothers.
The high school student then spoke directly toward the livestream camera:
Long live Taiwan, long live the Republic of China!
The man immediately began stammering and asking the student to stop. The contrast between his earlier interruption and his reaction to the student's words became the central moment shared and discussed online.
Why the Student's Words Drew Attention
The student's response brought two names into the same brief declaration: Taiwan, the island where the incident happened, and the Republic of China, the formal name used by Taiwan's government. The People's Republic of China is the state governed from Beijing, whose national anthem the man had been singing.
For readers unfamiliar with those names, the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China refer to different governments. The student's wording placed support for Taiwan and its existing state institutions directly into the man's broadcast.
Threads users praised the student's quick response, with some describing the phrase as a spell that immediately changed the man's behavior. Other comments focused on the disruption of a public performance and the lack of respect shown to the pianist.
The attention also extended to speculation about livestream moderation. The platform carrying the man's broadcast was not identified, and no outcome for that broadcast was given. The visible encounter ended with his startled response, while the dispute inside the station continued.
A Second Pianist and a Call for Police
After the student left, an older woman began playing the piano. Witnesses said the man continued making provocative remarks toward her and repeatedly used the term "bluebird," a politically charged expression in Taiwan.
People nearby then notified railway staff and requested police assistance. A witness estimated that officers arrived about five minutes after the call.
The man switched to Taiwanese when speaking with police and said he was Taiwanese, according to the witness. He also claimed that the woman at the piano was a fellow church member and described his behavior as listening to music and singing along.
The original account says the woman and other people present rejected his claim that they knew each other. A more detailed witness account describes her remaining silent during the exchange, with other people later confirming that the two were strangers.
Officers persuaded the man to move to another floor, after which he left. A witness said police recorded the reporting person's name and telephone number and advised people to avoid a confrontation.
For the people using the piano, the immediate result was a police intervention that separated the man from the performance area. The witness description of that intervention has also become part of the discussion surrounding the incident.
From a Family Home to a Railway Concourse
The piano's arrival at Tainan station had a very different beginning. It belonged to the family of Wang Wen-chung, a former chief of the Tainan City Police Department, and had accompanied his three daughters through years of music lessons.
Wang's second daughter explained that her father died shortly before the Mid-Autumn Festival. Her mother, Yang Hsueh-lien, was preparing to move to Taichung and was sorting through the family's longtime home in Hsinchu, which was to be sold.
The family initially asked whether anyone needed the piano. A relative involved with Rotary helped arrange the donation, eventually finding a place for it at Tainan station. The daughter said such arrangements had previously often sent instruments to rural primary schools or churches.
The piano left the Hsinchu home on October 14 and reached Tainan station the next day. The station's new facilities opened on October 17, putting the instrument in place shortly before passengers began using the new space.
Tainan carried particular meaning for the family because it was the final posting of Wang's public service career and the city where he retired. The donation was initially going to bear Yang's name, but the family chose Wang's instead to commemorate that connection.
The Dates Behind the Encounter
The move from a private home to a busy public station happened within a single week. The dates also explain why the piano was already attracting attention when the confrontation occurred.
- October 14: The family's Yamaha piano was moved out of its home in Hsinchu.
- October 15: The instrument arrived at Tainan station through a donation arranged with Rotary's help.
- October 17: The new Tainan station facilities opened.
- October 20: The high school student's performance was interrupted, followed by a further dispute and the arrival of police.
The incident therefore happened three days after the station opened and five days after the piano arrived. In that short period, passengers had already begun stopping to play and listen, with videos of performances circulating online.
Forty Years of Music Behind the Donation
Wang's family bought the Yamaha secondhand about four decades ago. Each of the three sisters studied piano for at least 10 years, and their mother required them to practise for at least 30 minutes every day.
A teacher visited the home for lessons lasting about an hour and a half, with each daughter taking a turn of roughly 30 minutes. Yang also insisted that the instrument be treated carefully, keeping it free of stickers and damage. Her daughter credited that care with preserving its condition through the years.
Wang's work frequently took him away from home, leaving Yang responsible for much of the children's upbringing and music education. On weekends, she regularly took the three girls by train to visit him wherever he was posted.
Those journeys made rail travel part of the sisters' childhood, giving the piano's new home at a station another personal connection. After Wang retired, he also had more opportunities to hear music at home, including when his grandchildren visited and played.
None of the three sisters entered a music profession. Their second sister said playing eventually became a way to relax and express feelings rather than simply a daily obligation. Seeing strangers now stop to use the instrument has brought the family happiness, adding a quieter story of shared enjoyment alongside the confrontation that drew attention online.
Key Points
- A high school student's October 20 performance at Tainan station was interrupted by a man singing China's national anthem while livestreaming.
- The student finished playing and shouted support for Taiwan and the Republic of China toward the camera.
- Witnesses said the man later disturbed another pianist, prompting a call to railway staff and police.
- Police moved him to another floor before he left, according to witnesses.
- The piano was donated by former Tainan police chief Wang Wen-chung's family and arrived on October 15.
- The Yamaha had been part of the family's life for about 40 years before becoming available for passengers to play.
