The people have spoken: in an online poll, Beijing commuters have overwhelming said they want to be able to take photos while on subway trains.
The Beijing Metro directly asked its ridership if it should ban photo-taking in a Weibo post. Nearly 80 percent said taking photos is okay as long as it doesn’t interfere with other passengers. Only eight percent said they were in favor of a ban.
The question over whether photo-taking should be allowed arose when National People’s Congress representative and chairman of the taxation department of the Capital University of Economics and Business Liu Ying took a photograph while on a train. Liu was asked by subway staff to delete the picture, but wasn’t given a clear explanation why. A subway spokesperson said at the time that even though there isn’t a specific rule against it, he should delete it for “safety reasons”.
Even though Beijingers are resolute in their defense of the right to take photos, there’s no word the Beijing Metro will acquiesce to the will of the people. However, the company did remind passengers that taking pictures of others infringes upon their privacy, stopping in the middle of a station just to take a picture interferes with passenger traffic flow and order, and taking pictures of government facilities is prohibited. The implication being if you avoid those things, you’re probably fine.
Several cities around the world have prohibited photo-taking on the subway, including Hong Kong and New York City.