A senior Chinese family planning official says the government will enforce the one child law on the rich and powerful, stressing they have "no privileges".

Zhang Weiqing, director of the National Population and Family Planning Commission, says in an interview with the "Qiushi" (Seeking Truth From Facts) magazine, the government will take serious measures to solve the problem that many celebrities, private business people and some officials violate the family planning law by having more than one child.

Admitting that such problems existed, he stressed that all people are equal before the law and people who break the law should be penalized.

China began to practice family planning in the early 1970s and implemented the Population and Family Planning Law in 2002, allowing most couples to have only one child.

Those who violate the law are normally forced to pay a large fine, but such sanctions fail to deter the rich and powerful.

Blaming poor management and certain "complicated reasons" for the problem, Zhang pledged the government would find ways to address it.

Source: Xinhua