No privileges for Zhang in case of his ‘extra’ children
Print Edition
Family planning authorities will handle the one-child policy violations of film director Zhang Yimou in accordance with legal procedures, a government spokesman said yesterday.
“Every citizen is equal before the law and nobody is allowed to have privileges to give birth to more children than allowed,” Yao Hongwen, spokesman for the National Health and Family Planning Commission, said in response to a question at a press conference.
Yao’s comment followed stories in the media claiming that Zhang had seven children — one with his ex-wife, three with his current wife Chen Ting, and another three with two mistresses.
“The commission’s attitude towards citizens’ birth violations is consistent and clear. Every Chinese citizen should abide by and safeguard the solemnity of laws and regulations,” Yao said.
China’s family planning policy, introduced in the late 1970s to rein in the country’s growing population, limits most urban couples to one child and most rural couples to two. The policy was recently relaxed, allowing couples to have two children if one of them is an only child.
Those who flout the policy face hefty fines. The amount of the fine is generally several times the combined annual income of the parents. Some calculations put the fine that Zhang may have to pay at as much as 160 million yuan (US$26.3 million).
News about Zhang’s children sparked online criticism of celebrities and the rich who have more children than the policy allows.
In an open letter on December 1, Zhang admitted he and his wife had two sons and a daughter. He apologized to the public and said the couple was willing to accept punishment in accordance with China’s laws and regulations.
However, Zhang denied the claims he had mistresses and as many as seven children.
Zhang, one of the “fifth generation” of Chinese filmmakers, made his directorial debut in 1987 with “Red Sorghum” and has won numerous awards worldwide. He was chief director of the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympic Games.
The commission yesterday urged local authorities to legally collect birth control fines and vowed to punish any violations.
“We will improve coordination among different departments to regulate the collection and management of social compensation fees,” Yao said, referring to various acts of misconduct spotted by auditing officials in the management of family planning fees at grassroots level.
Family planning fines, or “social compensation fees,” are paid to local family planning departments by parents who breach the family planning policy.
In September, the National Audit Office released auditing results on fines collected in 45 counties and cities in nine provincial-level regions from the beginning of 2009 to May 2012. The audit revealed various problems in the handling of fines, including inaccurate reports on the number of extra children couples had, failure to collect fees and officials handing out higher fines than they should have.
“Family planning is one of the country’s basic policies, and social compensation fees are a key means to enforce family planning as well as a necessary economically restrictive measure for illegal births,” Yao said.
He said such fines should be submitted to the national treasury and then reallocated to local governments as funds to boost public services.
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