China is not like what the Western would like one to believe, asserted Chinese rapper, singer and songwriter Jackson Wang, also a K-pop star. He said China is a “normal” place and for one to shed the preconceived notions, they would have to visit the country. 

Wang, who lives in Shanghai with his parents, told Raj Shamani in his podcast, ‘Figuring Out’, that unlike popular belief, there are no restrictions on speech in China. When Shamani asked what the world gets wrong about China, Wang said, “It’s a normal place and I think you know there is a lot of stuff that’s out of our control.”

“You have to go there rather than just hear about it. You have to come to Shanghai, go to Chongqing, go to Chengdu, go to Guangzhou, go to Beijing, go to the Great Wall…Just come and feel and see. I have come here to feel and see and to learn,” he said.  

Wang said someone releases a video online, rife with stereotypes, and that gets a life of its own, and the misinformation spreads. He said he has seen “horrible stuff” about his home country. “I think living in Shanghai for myself, I don’t think it’s true,” he explained. Wang said a lot of the videos he has seen revolve around Chinese food choices and the places they are cooked. He said such stereotypes could arise out of any part of the globe.

“We’re not in a game, right? Then everything is perfect, structured and built perfectly. No we’re on Earth man. And I think there’s so many misconceptions,” he said. “Come and see first, Come and see. and you will have a better understanding. You will have a better personal experience that you see for yourself and not whatever other people say,” he said.

When asked what he has to say about the assumption that he is a “soft power”, playing a  prominent role in shaping China’s pop culture in the global world, Wang said, “I just represent where I’m from, my hometown, right? I don’t know about anything else. I don’t even want to comment on it. I am proud of where I am from.”