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, singer-songwriter 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.