Justin Bieber  Photo: IC

For days, Justin Bieber has been a hot topic on social media platforms such as Twitter and Sina Weibo, not only for his new album Changes, but also for the support he has shown for China and its city of Wuhan as they battle against COVID-19, which has killed more than 2,000 people in China.

The 25-year Canadian singer uploaded videos on Instagram and Chinese short video platform TikTok, also known as Douyin, in which he says, "China we stand with you. Wuhan jiayou (add oil)!" He has also donated 200,000 yuan ($28,500) to Wuhan, the city that was hit the hardest by the virus. 

As we all know, since his debut as a genius singer, he has fully showcased his singing talent across the globe while also getting himself caught up in no small amount of trouble. His past bad or "improper" behavior has offended a number of nations and followers. The worst one came from his "misleading" visit to Japan's Yasukuni Shrine, a place that pays tribute to some of Japan's most notorious World War II war criminals, during his Tokyo trip in 2014. For many people in China and South Korea, the shrine is the most offensive place on Earth and visiting it means bringing back the memories of the misery caused by Japanese aggression.

For that and other incidents, Bieber was banned from performing in the Chinese mainland, according to a statement by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture in 2017.

It has been nearly three years since then and a lot of things have changed. I imagine there must be a clear reason why Bieber decided to name his new album, which released on Friday, Changes. He must be hoping his fans see the positive changes he has made. The new album of 17 songs has become a hit around the world, including China. Sales of the song on China's music platform QQ Music have reached 5 million units.

This high number proves that Chinese fans not only acknowledge his music but also are happy with the changes he has made. Both them and overseas fans have started to discuss whether it is time to lift the ban.

I don't think it is time to ask the authorities to think about this just yet because they are busy with the war against COVID-19. 

However, I do think it is highly likely that the ban will be lifted once the virus is dealt with. After all, we all agree that this "bad boy" has come back with changes that people are happy to see. So why not give him a chance?