Dancing star! Iraqi reporter says FM's recognition makes his life well worth it!

Towards the end of the press conference given by Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday morning on the sidelines of the second session of the 14th National People's Congress, a foreign journalist from China Arab TV asked a question, in fluent Chinese, about "what role foreign reporters can play in telling a good Chinese story?"

The foreign minister, before replying, seemed to have recognized the journalist as a familiar figure.

"So you are the lad who danced the kemusan, which I saw in short videos. Do you still dance?" Wang asked.

Kemusan, literally "Subject Three," is a freestyle street dance executed to the rhythm of an upbeat Chinese song, with knees and ankles swinging sideways, accompanied with dazzling hand moves and rapid wrist twists. It apparently originated in 2021 at a wedding in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and was so named for being one of the three tests for locals in their lifetime, the other two being singing folk songs and eating rice noodles.

It has since gone viral online, with social media platforms replete with user-generated video clips featuring men and women of all descriptions, including foreigners, extemporizing the choreographic movement in diverse circumstances.

The foreign minister went on to commend the question as a good one, well suited to be the last query to wrap up the press conference, adding that over the years foreign correspondents in China have told a host of Chinese stories vividly and enthusiastically. Wang also took the opportunity to express his heart-felt thanks to the foreign media community.

The young journalist was Fang Haoming (Ameen Muneer Mohammed al-Obaidi), a reporter of China Arab TV, which is headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

After being thus recognized, Fang posted a video saying: "I was really excited to have been able to address a question to the foreign minister during the Two Sessions. I was truly moved. I felt especially honored and privileged to be recognized by the minister. For me, life now seems well worth it!"

In an interview with huanqiu.com, the Iraq-born Gen Z explained his predilection for "Subject Three." "I danced kemusan because I wanted to be identified with the society in general, so as to know more about the local people, about their life, with a view to telling the China Story better, which I believe is very important. I hope I am not the only one to be thus involved, and in the future, I hope more foreign reporters would get involved in whatever dances that happen to be here."

The young man, who has been in China for 13 years, is not only fluent in standard Chinese, but also keen to learn different Chinese dialects. In the interview, he demonstrated his versatility by asking "What are you doing?" in the way they speak in China's northeast.

On February 2, during a New Year reception in Beijing for foreign correspondents, Fang gave a performance of "Subject Three," whose video went viral, earning him accolades from Chinese netizens.

Responding to online queries, Fang said that "'Subject Three' is now even more sensational than (the Korean) Gangnam Style," and as a foreign correspondent in China, he hopes to tell the China story in a manner that Arab people can better understand China.