Uploaded May 2013 | Updated September 2026, 12 hours ago
Renowned Chinese director Zhang Yimou is being investigated for allegedly having seven children. The Chinese regime has a strict one-child policy, but sometimes, those with power and money can skirt the rules.
Zhang is known for directing the opening ceremony for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. On Thursday, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported that family planning authorities are now looking into reports that he fathered seven kids, to four different women.
[Gu Zhijian, Democracy Activist]
"The law in China is implemented according to the person in question. People like Zhang Yimou aren't restricted. For ordinary people, even after they get married they need to have a birth permit to have children, if not, they'll be forced to abort."
Zhang is currently in his second marriage, with actress Chen Ting. If he is found to have broken family planning rules, he faces more than $25 million in fines, according to state-run People's Daily.
Zhang Yimou gained fame earlier in his career for movies like "To Live". That film was banned by Chinese authorities because it looked at the disastrous effects of the Cultural Revolution.
More recently though, Zhang's critics say he has become more aligned with the ruling Communist Party. The New York Times describes his transformation as, quote, "a director with an uncompromising vision, to one who bows to the whims of party officials."
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Renowned Chinese director Zhang Yimou is being investigated for allegedly having seven children. The Chinese regime has a strict one-child policy, but sometimes, those with power and money can skirt the rules.
Zhang is known for directing the opening ceremony for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. On Thursday, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported that family planning authorities are now looking into reports that he fathered seven kids, to four different women.
[Gu Zhijian, Democracy Activist]
"The law in China is implemented according to the person in question. People like Zhang Yimou aren't restricted. For ordinary people, even after they get married they need to have a birth permit to have children, if not, they'll be forced to abort."
Zhang is currently in his second marriage, with actress Chen Ting. If he is found to have broken family planning rules, he faces more than $25 million in fines, according to state-run People's Daily.
Zhang Yimou gained fame earlier in his career for movies like "To Live". That film was banned by Chinese authorities because it looked at the disastrous effects of the Cultural Revolution.
More recently though, Zhang's critics say he has become more aligned with the ruling Communist Party. The New York Times describes his transformation as, quote, "a director with an uncompromising vision, to one who bows to the whims of party officials."
Subscribe to NTDonChina
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For more news and videos visit ☛ ntd.tv
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