Chinese Actor Zhang Songwen, who rose to fame for his role as Gao Qiqiang in the patriotic movie “Furious Speed,” was reported by well-known entertainment reporter Jiang Xiaoyan on January 2 for suspected tax evasion and was summoned by the authorities to rectify his tax payments.
With a career spanning 20 years, Zhang Songwen gained popularity last year for his performance in “Furious Speed,” a film produced by the Chinese Communist Party’s Political and Legal Affairs Commission that aimed to target political enemies by digging up old cases from 20 years ago. On January 2, Jiang Xiaoyan revealed on Weibo that the Chinese national tax authorities are currently conducting tax audits on celebrities in the entertainment industry, and Zhang Songwen was recently summoned by the tax department due to significant discrepancies between his personal income and tax payments.
The report also mentioned that Zhang Songwen’s net worth skyrocketed after gaining fame, with not only his acting fees reaching over 20 million Chinese yuan per project, but also receiving numerous endorsements for various advertisements.
Recently, Zhang Songwen has been surrounded by negative news, as besides the tax investigation revelation, former actress Jiang Chen disclosed being a victim of domestic violence by her “ex,” hinting that they met because their respective agents were Hong Kongers and both being Cantonese-speaking artists. They quickly formed a close relationship and fell in love. Unfortunately, her boyfriend frequently abused her, either slapping her or overturning tables, and eventually, Jiang Chen discovered his infidelity leading to a breakup.
Although Jiang Chen did not reveal her ex-boyfriend’s name, she described him as having a gentle and scholarly image, considering himself a teacher, coming from a poor family background without a mother, having struggled in Beijing without much success in his career, faced unfair treatment, harboring fear, inferiority complex, and psychological distortion, while appearing stable emotionally to the outside world. Netizens have speculated that the description matches Zhang Songwen.
Data shows that Zhang Songwen was born in 1976 in Tang Village, Xin Feng County, Shaoguan City, Guangdong Province, and graduated from the Beijing Film Academy. He gained recognition in the entertainment industry in 2003 for his role in the urban crime drama “The Price of Love.” In January 2023, he starred in the leading role in the anti-corruption crime investigation drama “Furious Speed,” and won the “Best Actor of the Year” award at the 2nd China TV Drama Awards. On December 16, 2024, the historical suspense drama “Secrets of Qingming Shanghe Tu,” where he portrayed Zhao Buyou, was broadcast.
Regarding the tax evasion allegations against Zhang Songwen, their authenticity is yet to be confirmed. Previously, after wrapping up “Furious Speed,” he was asked if he minded disclosing his income, to which he replied, “After deducting taxes, it’s less than a hundred” and jokingly added, “Next time, I’ll try asking for 2 million.”
Furthermore, Jiang Xiaoyan also revealed that actor Liu Xueyi, who gained fame through the period drama “Hua Jian Ling,” and another A-list male actor, have also been summoned by the authorities to rectify their tax payments. If the allegations are true, this would mark another seismic event in the Chinese entertainment industry following the Fan Bingbing tax evasion scandal. As of now, Zhang Songwen has not responded to the domestic violence or tax investigation claims, whereas Liu Xueyi remains silent on the tax rectification issue.