Most students expect orientation talks and administrative briefings on their first day of school, not Jay Chou's love songs — but that's exactly what greeted students walking into a lecture on sexual harassment. 

On Saturday (Sept 6), a student from Soochow University shared photos of the lecture on Xiaohongshu with the caption: "First lesson in Taiwan is gender education". 

One of the lecture slides features Taiwanese singer-songwriter Jay Chou's Waiting For You, with certain lines highlighted in red. 

Lyrics such as "I rented an apartment along the same alley as you, hoping to bump into by accident", "I found a job that's near your dorm", "lying in your school field staring at the stars, the classroom light is on — you haven't left", and "I'm standing outside your school waiting for the bell to ring, let's walk together after your class ends, okay?" were flagged for stalker-like behaviour. 

The news quickly sparked online debate and some netizens reportedly criticised that the 2018 song was "taken out of context", adding that "this song was written for fans" and "people with dirty hearts see everything as dirty". 

On Weibo, some netizens agreed that the song's lyrics sound like stalking and wrote: "To tell the truth, when I was listening to this song at the time, I still complained to my classmates, 'Isn't this a stalker?'" 

Meanwhile, others defended the singer saying it's meant to be a tribute to fans. 

"I suggest you listen to this song. The entire song is Jay Chou's letter to fans, encouraging young fans to study hard and enter their ideal university! How did it become a song about a stalker in the mouths of experts and professors? I suggest making a change to Taiwan's history books first," said one netizen. 

A few netizens praised the unorthodox teaching method and even found it funny. 

On Xiaohongshu, one netizen wrote: "Hahaha I laughed so hard when I flipped to the lyrics at the back." 

This is not the first time Jay's songs have been used for educational purposes. 

In 2014, his hit song Snail was reportedly included in primary school textbooks in China to help students read better.

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esther.lam@asiaone.com

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