Filmmaker Zhang Yimou faces 7m yuan fine over family size

Film director Zhang Yimou might be fined more than seven million yuan (HK$8.95 million) for violating the mainland's birth-control policies, state media reported yesterday, as the couple said years of hiding their children had been a "pain".

In an interview with Xinhua, Zhang - who fathered two sons and a daughter with his current wife, Chen Ting - said he would take full responsibility for his wrongdoing. He said his parents influenced his decisions about fatherhood.

"My father told me before he died that he wished to have a boy carry on the family line," Zhang said. "My mother felt that children needed company."

Watch: In a video, director Zhang Yimou apologizes for violating China’s one-child policy

Citing a government lawyer from the Hubin district family planning agency, which was handling the case, the report said Zhang's annual income in the years 2000, 2003 and 2005 - the years before the births of his children and which form the basis for the fine - ranged from 2,760 yuan to 2.5 million yuan.