Kris Wu Photo: CFP

"Many parents want to send their children abroad for high-quality education. I think they should do this before children's values are formed," says Chinese-Canadian pop star Kris Wu, who has been accused of having sex with underage girls, in a 2015 interview that was dug up and then condemned by Chinese netizens on Tuesday.

Wu has become the center of public debate since his sex scandal exploded on Chinese social media platforms. Since then, his nationality as well as experiences growing up in Canada have been point of discussions several times, which has led many netizens to seek out previous interviews to figure out what the man is like.

According to news website guancha.cn, the interview in question took place while Wu was promoting a film by Chinese director Guan Hu on a TV program. 

In the TV program, Guan mentioned that he thought Wu was very pure and clean because of "his experience growing up overseas."

Guan said that he noticed many other Chinese young people of a similar age to Wu - who was 20s at the time - tend to complain a lot, while Wu, who he found very simple, did not. 

Speaking after Guan, Wu said that he thinks parents should send their children overseas for education before their values are formed.

"For example, when children are 15 or 16 years old, they are more rebellious and are not good at English. If they go abroad at that time, they will not easily integrate into that environment," the star added.

But his remarks were opposed by many netizens and education experts. "It will harm children if they are sent overseas before their values and world views are formed as they will not be able to adapt to the society of either side in the end," one netizen commented.

When speaking of the issue, Xie Zuoxu, a professor of higher education studies, told the Global Times on Wednesday that it is better for children to study in China while they are minors since that will enable them to more rapidly become accustomed to Chinese society after studying overseas.

"I am willing to allow my child to see different cultures in other countries but I will not send her abroad too early. I don't think it would benefit her growth and I would be concerned about her safety," Du, a Chinese mother to a 5-year-old girl, told the Global Times.

In early July, Du Meizhu, a woman claiming to be Wu's former girlfriend, accused the star of having sex with her while she was 17. 

Du once again caused a stir on Sina Weibo on Sunday after she released more details in an interview with NetEase Entertainment.

Du further claimed that Wu used various methods to identify and lure young girls for sex. Du claimed that the number of victims, including herself, far exceeds eight, among whom two were minors.

More than 20 young women following Du accused Wu on Sina Weibo.