BEIJING - A Chinese film director who won the Berlin Film Festival’s prestigious Golden Bear has been detained on charges of ‘soliciting sex’, state media said, as Beijing steps up a crackdown against immoral behaviour.
Wang Quanan, who secured the accolade for his 2006 movie ‘Tuya’s Marriage’, was held with a prostitute last week in Beijing, the official Xinhua news agency said, citing police. An 18-year-old female ‘pimp’ and another six people involved in the sex trade were also detained with the 48-year-old film-maker and the prostitute, aged 31, the news agency said.
‘Wang confessed that he contacted the prostitute by cellphone and paid her 800 yuan ($130),’ Xinhua said. ‘He solicited sex for three consecutive days last week,’ it added, citing Beijing police. A statement on the force’s verified account on Sina Weibo confirmed the arrest of a 48-year-old man on charges of paying for prostitution, but it did not name him.
‘Tuya’s Marriage’ is an unconventional love story set in rural Inner Mongolia, in northern China. Beijing has launched a clampdown on excess in recent months which has targeted high-profile personalities involved with drugs or prostitution. Internet celebrity Guo Meimei, who drew national attention after she implicated the Chinese Red Cross in a scandal in 2011, was detained in July on prostitution and gambling charges and made a televised ‘confession’ last month.
Corruption investigations carried out by Chinese authorities have also focused more heavily on the private lives of officials in recent months, with many being accused of keeping mistresses. The son of Hong Kong movie star Jackie Chan was last month arrested for drugs offences, while a Taiwanese actor held alongside him made two tearful apologies on national television.