Zheng Donghan

Zheng Donghan was born in Taiwan, China; his exact birth date has not been disclosed. At age three he moved with his family to Hong Kong, where he began his music career early. His first job was as a guitarist. Later he formed a band with Teddy Robin called "Teddy Robin and the Playboys," emerging on the Hong Kong music scene as the band's lead singer and guitarist. The band had considerable influence in 1970s Hong Kong and was mentioned alongside groups such as The Wynners.

Zheng began his business career early. At 24 he became general manager of Polydor/PolyGram Records in Hong Kong, and later rose to become PolyGram’s Asia president. He made significant contributions to Cantonese pop music at a time when Cantonese songs were declining in popularity; Zheng led a change that encouraged singers like Sam Hui (Xu Guanjie) to perform in Cantonese, helping Cantonese songs reemerge as the main local form of emotional expression in Hong Kong. Representative works from that era include Sam Hui’s "鬼马双星" and "天才与白痴."

In artist management, Zheng successfully built several singers’ international profiles. In 1973 he helped Teresa Teng enter the Japanese market, enabling her to appear three times on NHK’s Red and White Song Festival (Kohaku Uta Gassen) and become an Asian Chinese songstress; her single "淡淡幽情" sold about five million copies across Asia. By the 1980s, the record company under Zheng’s control had gathered many well-known artists, including Leslie Cheung, Alan Tam, Paula Tsui, Jacky Cheung, Andy Lau, Leon Lai, Beyond, Faye Wong and Grasshoppers, among other top stars.

On the international front, Zheng joined Universal Music in 1998 and successfully expanded its presence in Japan, raising its market share to second place. In 1999 Universal acquired PolyGram, and Zheng was appointed Chairman of Universal Pan-Asia, overseeing Greater China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and India — the highest management position held by an ethnic Chinese executive in an international record company at the time. In 2003 he joined EMI Records as a partner for China and President for Asia, giving EMI a significant position in the Mandarin-language market. He also held a joint stake in Golden Harvest Films.

Zheng promoted several innovations and actively moved into the digital music market. In 2007 he reached a strategic cooperation with Baidu to jointly develop China’s digital music market. In 2008, when EMI announced its exit from China, Zheng, as president of Gold Typhoon, acquired all of EMI’s Greater China assets and transformed the company into an "all-around entertainment platform" spanning music, film, concerts and other areas. Under his leadership the company’s artist roster expanded to include notable performers such as Xu Wei, David Tao, Elva Hsiao and Ronald Cheng; the concerts of his artists repeatedly set new records and became an important force in China’s entertainment industry.

On December 31, 2010, Zheng announced his retirement and transferred Gold Typhoon to Pacific Capital Investment Asia Limited, led by Pang Weiren. He said he looked forward to "picking up the guitar again and playing the day’s chords." Beyond music, Zheng has also been involved in the film and broader entertainment industries, participating in projects including the animated film "The Tortoise and the Hare Run Again," and continuing to be active across music and film fields.

Zheng’s family matters have also drawn public attention. His son Ronald Cheng (Zheng Zhongji) was born in 1972, and changes in Zheng’s marital life have attracted notice. In July 2011 Ronald welcomed a daughter, and the following year Ronald held his wedding. Zheng has publicly expressed concern for his family and supported his children’s careers. He keeps a low personal profile but has had notable influence in both his professional and family life.