Chinese Celebrities Face One-child Crackdown

Their wealth and fame buy apparently endless privilege - but celebrities' perks do not extend to having larger families, Beijing authorities have warned.

Stars of sport and pop who violate the one-child policy will face harsher fines and tarnished credit records, according to a senior family planning official.

The authorities believe the rich and famous are setting a bad example to ordinary Chinese couples, and barely notice the financial penalties because of their wealth.

"Celebrities and wealthy people would be more heavily fined for giving birth to more than one child. The commission is still deliberating on the amount," said Deng Xingzhou, head of the municipal family planning commission.

His remarks come amid growing bitterness about the ease with which the well-off flout the rules while others are crippled financially for having a second child. Many see the disparity as emblematic of the country's wealth gap.

In a survey by China Youth Newspaper and QQ.com last year, more than 60% of respondents said it was unfair that stars and the affluent could breach the rule.

The director of the state family planning commission has described famous offenders as a "negative social influence", and officials in other parts of China have promised to tackle the issue by naming and shaming rich and influential offenders, or banning them from receiving awards and civic honors.

According to Xinhua, the state news agency, Deng said the commission planned a threefold system of punishment based on tougher fines, the inclusion of family planning violations in personal files in the national credit system - affecting celebrities' ability to borrow - and the censure of party members.

But he told the municipal political advisory body the proposals were still being finalized, and that the organization had yet to decide who would be recognized as a celebrity.

At present, couples face fines of up to 10 times the local per capita income if they break the law. They are believed to average around 100,000 yuan (£7,000) in Beijing, where per capita income was 22,000 yuan last year.

Xia Xueluan, professor of sociology at Beijing University, said financial penalties would not deter the wealthy from having more children, and almost legalized breaches.

"It means you pay to have a second child and, if you are rich enough, you can afford to do that. It is not fair for poor people, and many ... have complained the policy allows rich people to have more kids. But adding the credit record will make celebrities - especially businessmen - think more seriously," he suggested.

"If the celebrities don't have more than one child, the public will feel there is fairness and justice; if it is the other way round, they will feel they are being exploited."

But he questioned how much impact such a change would have in rural areas, where birth control policies have proved less effective than in cities despite exemptions allowing many rural couples to have a second child.

"Farmers who are deeply influenced by traditional Chinese agricultural thinking or Confucian thoughts might not be influenced by celebrities. They just want more kids," he said.

The government argues it must continue with its controversial rules because of the demographic pressures it faces. China's population is expected to continue growing over the next two decades, peaking at 1.5bn.

The population of Beijing alone is projected to hit more than 21 million by 2020. But it has sought to make the regime more sympathetic in recent years, offering benefits to those who abide by the laws and even ordering local officials to rewrite campaign slogans.

Xinhua reported last year that threats such as "Houses toppled, cows confiscated, if abortion demand rejected" were to be replaced with gentler reminders, including: "The mother Earth is too tired to sustain more children."

The change is part of a wider attempt to rebrand the policy. Officials argue that it has reduced environmental pressures, pointing out that its introduction in the late seventies has reduced the population by an estimated 400 million people. They also say it is not a blanket rule, pointing to the rural couples who are allowed a second child because their first was a girl, or disabled.

But tough enforcement of the policy has continued to cause conflict in some areas. Last year, thousands of villagers in south-west China attacked family planning officials in a riot sparked by a crackdown including tougher fines and the confiscation or destruction of property belonging to those who failed to pay.