Director’s paternity sparks debate
张艺谋身陷“超生门”
Family planning authorities confirmed on Monday that film director Zhang Yimou fathered three children out of wedlock, ending months of speculation that he had fathered as many as seven children by various mothers.
本周一，相关计生部门确认导演张艺谋非婚生育两子一女属实。至此，数月来有关张艺谋 “四妻七子”的传闻终于水落石出。
Zhang admitted to having three children with his current wife, Chen Ting, and he apologized on Sunday evening in a statement posted on his studio`s micro blog.
张艺谋承认与现任妻子陈婷的确育有两子一女，并于上周日晚通过“艺谋工作室”微博上发表致歉声明。
The apology came amid growing concerns about whether celebrities like Zhang can dodge the punishments of family planning laws.
这份致歉声明一出，赶紧引发公众广泛担忧：像张艺谋这样的明星是否可以躲避超生处罚呢？
"We hope that the party involved will continue to cooperate with the investigation and accurately declare his income in the birth year of each child. We will handle the case according to the law and in time will announce the result," an official with the family planning bureau in Binhu district of Wuxi, Jiangsu province, which is the hometown of Zhang`s wife, said in an online statement.
江苏无锡是张艺谋妻子的老家，来自无锡滨湖区计生局的一位工作人员在网络声明中称：“望当事人连续积极配合，如实申报相关年份的真实收入，从而依法查处并及时向社会公布查处结果。”
According to family planning regulations in Jiangsu province, couples who give birth before their marriage is registered face the same fines as married couples who violate the family planning policies - five to eight times the average annual income of the area in which the children were born.
按照《江苏省人口与计划生育条例》规定，男女双方非婚生育二个以上的孩子，按照基本标准的五倍至八倍缴纳社会抚养费。
If a couple`s annual income is more than double the area`s average income, the couple will be subject to additional fines.
如双方实际收入是城镇居民年人均可支配收入二倍以上的，还应当缴纳额外的罚款。
Chen Yuan, a lawyer from Guangzhou, said the couple in this case are unlikely to face a huge fine of 160 million yuan ($26 million), as published in some media reports.
来自广州的陈远（音译）律师表示，该案件中的两位当事人不大可能被处以像一些报道中所称的1.6亿元人民币的巨额罚款。
An authority with Wuxi`s commission of population and family planning who spoke on condition of anonymity said that it is difficult to investigate celebrities` incomes because of the country`s faulty taxation system, and Zhang, therefore, may not be fined in accordance with his real income.
无锡人口计生委的一位不愿透露姓名的官员表示，由于国家税收体系有待完善，目前很难调查明星的收入状况。所以张艺谋很有可能不会按照其真实收入来缴纳罚金。
Southern Metropolis Entertainment Weekly reported that Zhang, 62, had at least seven children by several women - an ex-wife, two mistresses and Chen, a former dancer who is 31 years his junior.
据《南都娱乐周刊》报道，现年62岁的张艺谋分别与前妻、两名情妇与现任妻子、小他31岁的前舞蹈演员陈婷至少育有7个孩子。
In the statement posted on the studio`s micro blog, Zhang denied that he had seven children and said that "some people with ulterior motives" followed his children for two years and fabricated rumors that "severely interfere with the daily lives" of his family members.
在艺谋工作室的微博声明中，张艺谋否认了育有七子的传闻，并表示近两年来，一些“别有认真的人” 跟踪自己的子女，散布谣言，“严重干扰了家人的日常生活”。
The incident has caught public attention more than other cases of family planning violations as it exposes the social divide between rich and poor and fuels concerns that the policy has lost its constraining effect on celebrities, experts say.
专家表示，同其他违法生育案件相比，张艺谋超惹事件之所以更受关注，原因在于该案件揭示了社会贫富差距，并引发人们对于计生政策对明星是否丧失约束力的担忧。
"This incident shows that the policy is not equally effective for celebrities," Lu Jiehua, a professor of demography at Peking University, said. "Nor is it effective for migrant workers, the self-employed or people living in remote areas, to my knowledge."
“这一事件揭示出当前的计生政策遇到明星后便失效了，”北京大学人口学教授陆杰华表示，“据我所知，对于流淌农夫工、个体户以及偏远地区的人们来说，计生政策也形同摆设。”
China`s family planning policy has been in place for more than three decades. Most couples have been restricted to only one child since 1980.
我国推行计划生育政策已将近30年工夫。自1980年开始，大部分家庭按规定只能生育一个孩子。
But the policy has been loosened over time. A second child was allowed, for example, for some rural families whose first child was a girl, as well as for ethnic groups and for couples who are both only children.
但是伴着工夫的推移，计划生育政策也有所放宽。例如，一些第一个子女是女孩的农村家庭、少数民族以及夫妻两人都是独生子女的家庭都能生育第二胎。
The policy was further relaxed last month, when the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Communist Party of China Central Committee decided that if just one spouse is an only child, the couple may have two children.
上个月，中国共产党十八届三中全会进一步放开计划生育政策，“单独”家庭，即夫妻双方一方为独生子女的家庭也可生育二胎。
