CHINESE film director Wang Quan’an was detained by Beijing police for having sex with a prostitute, the police bureau announced on its official microblog yesterday morning.
Wang, 48, was caught on the evening of Sept. 10 at an apartment in Dongcheng District with a prostitute surnamed Lu, 31. According to the police, Wang admitted that he paid Lu 800 yuan (US$130) and that he also had sex with other prostitutes three times between Sept. 8-10. The police later detained an 18-year-old pimp surnamed Liu and six other people involved in prostitution.
Wang joins a growing list of celebrities who have been nabbed in the China’s Ministry of Public Security’s widening campaign on drug abuse, gambling and prostitution in the last three years. Another recent prostitution case involved actor Huang Haibo, who was ordered to serve six months in a Beijing detention center after being caught having sex with a prostitute in May.
A Shaanxi native, Wang graduated from the Beijing Film Academy in 1991. Since his debut film, “Lunar Eclipse,” in 1999, Wang has achieved success on the international film festival circuit. Most notably, he was awarded the prestigious Golden Bear at the 2007 Berlin International Film Festival for his film, “Tuya’s Marriage.” He also won the Best Screenplay award for “Apart Together” at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival.
“Apart Together” follows an old Kuomintang soldier who returns to the mainland from Taiwan after 50 years to find his first love. The film opened the 2010 Berlin International Film Festival.
Unlike many of his contemporaries who focus on urban life, Wang’s films often emphasize China’s rural life, including “Jingzhe” and “Tuya’s Marriage.” Wang’s films have also often focused on female protagonists, including his first four films, all of which starred actress Yu Nan.
Wang had a 10-year relationship with Yu, which ended in 2009. Wang married actress Zhang Yuqi in 2011, who is 21 years his junior. Zhang has not commented on Wang’s case.
(Cao Zhen)
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