Chinese authorities have sentenced rock star Zang Tianshuo, a household name in China, to six years in jail for involvement in a violent fight that resulted in one death and three injuries in 2003. The Beijing Higher People's Court upheld Zang’s sentence on Friday. Zang was voted the most popular mainland singer/songwriter at the 9th Chinese Music Awards in 2003. He composed and performed some of the most popular recent film songs, including one from the Chinese movie “Friends”.
The Higher Court rejected an appeal by the singer, who challenged the verdict of the Beijing Municipal No. 2 Intermediate People's Court last November. The Higher Court heard that the fight was connected to a business dispute that Zang, 45, had with his partner Sun Baohe over ownership of a disco bar in the city of Langfang, near Beijing.
Two gangs belonging to Zang and Sun clashed at the Langang railway station, leading to the death and three injuries.
The verdict came soon after a court in Sogpo Mongol in the Malho Tibet Autonomous Prefecture sentenced a Tibetan singer, Tashi Dondrup, to one year and seven months in jail for producing a music album with “subversive songs”.
The album, “Torture without Trace”, was banned by the Chinese government in November last year. Tibetan activists stated that the album has 13 songs expressing nostalgia for the Dalai Lama and discussing the crackdown in Lhasa in March 2008.
Tashi has been in detention since his arrest at a restaurant on December 3 last year. The arrest warrant was issued by authorities in the central Henan province, where Tashi is a member of the Henan Mongolian Autonomous Region Arts Troupe.
Tashi caused a stir in 2008 with the release of another album, “The year of 1959”, regarding the events surrounding the Dalai Lama’s departure for India. He was arrested in September that year for producing music with 'counter-revolutionary content', reported to the activist organization International Campaign for Tibet.
