Pop-music duo’s Christmas show canceled amid drug allegations
It has become an eight-year tradition for Chinese pop duo Yu Quan to hold a concert on Christmas Day.
However, while fans hoped to attend their annual Christmas concert, which was scheduled to be held at Beijing Workers’ Gymnasium on Dec 25, the duo have been forced to cancel the show, during which they planned to celebrate their 20th anniversary.
On Nov 28, singer-songwriter Chen Yufan, one half of Yu Quan, was arrested on a charge of alleged use and possession of drugs, according to the Beijing police.
The arrest came just hours after the duo’s management company, Giant Jump, denied rumors of the musician’s drug use.
The police report says that 43-year-old Chen was caught, together with a 25-year-old woman, both of whom tested positive for a banned substance. It also says that the police found 7.96 grams of methamphetamine and 2.14 grams of marijuana in Chen’s home.
Giant Jump issued an apology on its official Sina Weibo account, saying that the company is sorry for Chen’s behavior, the sort of which, it says, has a negative impact on society, while adding that it posted its earlier denial before receiving official word from the Beijing police.
The other half of the duo, singersongwriter Hu Haiquan, expressed anger and sadness on his Sina Weibo account, which has about 5.6 million followers.
“I hope it’s just a nightmare and when I wake up, it will be the same as usual,” he wrote.
Fan Li Lingxiao wrote online: “I have been your fan since you released your first song. Drugs offer no help to life’s crises. They only mislead you. I hope you can come back one day and sing for the fans.”
In 1994, Chen, a Beijing native, dropped out of school and started his career as a singer-songwriter. The same year, Hu Haiquan, who started composing at age 11, came to Beijing from Northeast China and played keyboard for bands around the city.
Two years later, the two met for the first time, and Chen came up with the idea to form a band. Taking one syllable from each of their names, they became Yu Quan in 1998. In 1999, their debut album, propelled the pair to success. With 11 original studio albums released over the last 20 years, which have sold about 10 million copies in total, Yu Quan has become one of the most-popular duos in the country.
The pair also opened restaurants in Beijing and Shanghai. Just three days before Chen was arrested, the duo’s new restaurant opened in Beijing’s China World Trade Center Tower 3.
According to Xinhua News Agency, the Beijing Trade Association for Performances said on Sept 8 that Chinese stars who have been involved in drug abuse, gambling or consorting with prostitutes will be banned from any public performances. The association also signed a joint letter, promising that they will neither hire nor host stars who have been involved with drugs, gambling and prostitution to participate in performances. Over 200 members of the association have signed the letter in order to “purify the capital’s performance market”.
“It gives the wrong message to the general public, especially young people. The association holds the responsibility to keep the industry on a healthy course and promote performers’ social duties,” says Zhang Haijun, president of the association.
The past few years have seen a string of high-profile arrests of Chinese celebrities for alleged drug abuse. In 2014, Jaycee Chan, the son of Hong Kong movie star Jackie Chan, was caught and convicted of drug offenses.