Movie Director Admits He and His Wife Defied China's One-Child Rule

Story by the Associated Press; curated by Dave Urbanski

BEIJING (AP) — Star Chinese director Zhang Yimou has admitted flouting his country's strict family planning rules by having three children with his wife, but rejected rumors that he had fathered seven children with several women.

Zhang's office issued an open letter through its verified microblog account on the Twitter-like Sina Weibo site saying the director and his wife, Chen Ting, have two sons and a daughter.

This is the first time Zhang has responded to reports that circulated online in May that the director of 2011's "The Flowers of War," starring Christian Bale, had seven children from two marriages and relationships with two other women.

Director Zhang Yimou sits with actor Christian Bale for an interview. (Image source: YouTube raw video)

The letter says Zhang and his wife were willing to accept an investigation by the family planning committee in Chen's hometown, the eastern city of Wuxi.

Here's the trailer for "The Flowers of War," about a Westerner (Bale) who finds refuge with women in a church during Japan's Nanking Massacre in 1937. Posing as a priest, Bale's character tries to lead the women to safety:

--

[related]