Chinese Director Faces $27m Fine For Breaching One-Child Policy

Acclaimed director Zhang Yimou is under investigation and could face a multi-million dollar fine after it was claimed that he had violated China’s strict one-child policy to father seven children. The policy was introduced more than 30 years ago as a temporary measure to curb a surging population but continues today, despite increasing calls for change.

Acclaimed director Zhang Yimou is under investigation and could face a multi-million dollar fine after it was claimed that he had violated China’s strict one-child policy to father seven children. The policy was introduced more than 30 years ago as a temporary measure to curb a surging population but continues today, despite increasing calls for change.

Family planning officials in China are investigating if Zhang, who directed the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, violated the country’s strict family planning laws after reports surfaced that he had fathered at least seven children and will face a 160 million yuan ($27 million) fine, said the People’s Daily, an state-owned news agency.

Authorities in the eastern city of Wuxi, where Zhang’s wife lives, are compiling a report on their probe that will be released soon, according to Xinhua.

Penalties for breaching the controversial one-child policy, also known in China as a “social compensation fee”, are calculated according to a violator’s income and the number of children involved.

Officials in Beijing routinely defend the one-child policy, introduced in the late 1970s to prevent population growth spiralling out of control, saying it has helped lift the country out of poverty. But public anger over forced abortions and sterilisations, anxiety over gender imbalances and shifting demographics have prompted increasing calls for the policy to be scrapped, or at least relaxed.

Related: Chinese Think-Tank Calls For End to One-Child Policy

Some economists say China will face a dwindling pool of young workers in the coming years, and that it no longer makes economic sense to continue with the policy, particularly with falling birth rates in urban areas.

Reform advocates however remain optimistic that major change is coming, arguing that the government needs time to overcome resistance from bureaucrats with a vested interest in maintaining the family planning machinery.

But until then, the wealthy and powerful often find it easy to skirt the one-child rule by simply paying the social compensation fee – a disparity that has fuelled resentment and public anger about inequality.

“Rich people can have as many kids as they want? Having more than one is illegal, but pay a fine and suddenly it’s legal,” poet Chen Xuelin wrote on Sina Weibo, a popular microblogging site in China. “Rich people’s money is their own, but social resources belong to the masses. Who gave rich people the right to dominate public resources?”

“However many children a person has is their basic right, but in a twisted society, basic rights have become a privilege,” wrote Beijing resident Liu Weiling.

Related: China Issues 35-Point Plan to Tackle Income Inequality

Related: Rich Chinese Seek Emigration to Preserve Wealth: Study