Renowned Chinese director Zhang Yimou has been fined more than 7 million yuan for violating China's one-child policy, local government announced Thursday afternoon.
The Binhu District Health and Family Planning Commission in the city of Wuxi, which led the investigation into Zhang's case, announced they have issued the notice for Zhang's family to pay the stunning social cost of 7.48 million yuan (US$1.23 million). If Zhang does not appeal to the higher government or file a lawsuit to rebuke the ruling, he will have to pay the total amount within 30 days.
Should Zhang refuse to pay, the commission will ask the court to enforce payment and add an additional fine.
Zhang admitted in a statement issued on Dec. 1 through his studio's Weibo account that he had violated China's one-child policy and announced he would be willing to cooperate with the investigation against him.
Zhang and his wife Chen Ting also admitted in a television interview they had breached the family planning regulations by giving birth to three children and apologized to the public. The couple said they had made a mistake and would be prepared to correct it.
In May, online reports surfaced that Zhang had at least seven children and could be liable for fines running into millions of yuan.
While Zhang will likely be fined, the central government recently stated it would allow couples to have a second child if one of the parents is an only child; this was the government's most significant relaxation of its population control system in nearly three decades.