Taiwan singer Jam Hsiao has gone viral on mainland social media after he said he could not bear the thought of his beloved wife suffering the pain of childbirth.
The Paper reported that Hsiao attracted attention for his views about childbirth after he shared them in an interview with Southern People Weekly on February 7.
The topic attracted 270 million views on Weibo.
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Hsiao, 38, married his agent, Summer, who is 50, in October 2023. When sharing details of his happy marriage during the interview, he was asked whether the couple planned to have a baby.
He recounted his autobiography These Are The Days, in which he wrote that he did not want his future wife to endure the pain of labour.
“I’ve been thinking about that,” Hsiao said.
He said he understood that giving birth is hard work, and had watched documentaries and television programmes that made it look as though it is the greatest pain a human can endure.
“I have always felt that women suffer too much pain while giving birth,” he said.
Hsiao said he did not mean to deny anyone the happiness of having a baby, and he was deeply aware many people did enjoy having and raising children. It is just not something he and his wife would consider.
Apart from concerns about the pain for Summer, Hsiao also worried about the social pressures on their children because of his fame.
“Your father is good at singing, why don’t you know how to sing? Your father plays basketball well, why are you poor at sports?” Hsiao offered examples of what he imagined his children would be asked.
The singer said he was not sure if he would change his mind about having children, but was adamant he would never want his wife to go through childbirth.
“If one day in the future we regret for not having a child, we might try to adopt,” Hsiao confided, adding he thinks that kind of love without a blood relationship would be the purest.
Hsiao’s views have won plaudits on mainland social media.
“What a great man. He loves his wife, and understands women,” one person said.
“It’s so touching. True love,” said another.
“It’s so rare to have such a man who puts himself in his wife’s place,” wrote a third.
“I’m envious of his wife,” another online observer chimed in.
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