Chinese man to pay up to $1.2million fine for having more than 1 child

Chinese film director Zhang Yimou and wife have two sons and one daughter. This means they broke the country's one child policy on population control, having more children than permitted. An official with the birth control commission in Binhu, China said the agency sent a letter to notify Zhang of the fine for the birth violations on Saturday (Dec. 28). The official, who requested anonymity, said the details of the punishment would be unveiled after getting feedback from the couple. After calculations based on the combined household income, Zhang could be fined some 7.3 million yuan ($1.2 million).
China's family planning policy was introduced in the late 1970s to rein in the surging population by limiting most urban couples to one child and most rural couples to two.

Zhang admitted the wrongdoing and said he was ready to take any consequences. Zhang is popular for Chinese movies such as Red Sorghum, The Hero, Flowers of War (which features Hollywood star Christian Bale), and his choreography for the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony.