World renowned film director and prolific parent Zhang Yimou has paid a 7.5 million yuan ($1.2 million) fine after being found guilty of violating China's one-child policy.
The fine was issued by a court in January this year. Zhang was first investigated in May 2013 for violating family planning regulations, after he was accused of fathering seven children with four different women. In November the same year, he succumbed to media pressure and admitted he had two sons and a daughter with his current wife, Chen Ting, all from before they were married. He also has a daughter with a previous wife.
On its official Weibo account, the Binhu district family planning bureau confirmed that it had "received through bank transfer Chen Ting and Zhang Yimou’s payment of 7,487,854 yuan."
The fine exceeds what most violators of the policy receive, and was decided based on the couples' income in the years before having each child. However, despite the international success of Zhang Yimou's films, the director argued his income is highly inconsistent, and one year he claimed to have only earned 3,000 yuan ($494).
Family planning authorities nationwide have been criticised for the perceived uneven enforcement of the one-child policy, as wealthy and well-connected families are typically able to pay relatively small fines to have extra children. In late 2013, the government announced significant reforms to the policy, allowing hundreds of thousands of couples to have two children.
[Image via Sony Pictures Classics]
0 User Comments