Zhang Yimou could be fined for breaching China's one-child policy

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/dec/30/zhang-yimou-fine-one-child-policy-china

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Chinese film-maker Zhang Yimou will face a fine of more than 7m yuan (more than £730,000) for breaching his country's one-child policy, according to China's state news agency, Xinhua.

In an interview with the agency, Zhang said he and his wife, Chen Ting, were ready to make a public apology for having three children. The couple denied abuse of privilege and said they wanted more offspring for traditional reasons, and because the births brought happiness to themselves and their parents.

"My father told me prior to his death that he hoped I could have a son to continue the family line and my mother also believed that with more children, they could have more companions," said Zhang. "As a public figure, I and my wife must assist the sweeping investigations by the family planning authorities and also are willing to make a public apology."

The director of Hero and House of Flying Daggers, who is currently shooting his latest film, Return, in Beijing and Tianjin, has been at the centre of stories that he allegedly fathered as many as seven children from his two marriages and other relationships. The film-maker, who staged the dazzling Beijing Olympics opening and closing ceremonies in 2008, was reported in May to be liable for a 160m yuan (£16m) fine amid suggestions he and his wife had gone on the run to avoid prosecution. The director is believed to have given the interview to Xinhua in the hope of setting such rumours straight.

The Chinese government said in November that it would allow couples to have a second child if one of the parents was an only child. The move represented the most significant relaxation of the country's population control regime in nearly three decades.

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