Heather Branson:
I agree with you about the tax evasion, I see that in waaaay too many stories about fallen actors...the amounts are always huge and I can't believe that the government had no idea until just happens to happen when they want to blacklist an artist. It's just way too convenient and happens way too often.
Either their tax law enforcement is a joke, or they knew about it but didn't do anything as long as they were a good little creator of revenue, or they specifically make up charges when they finally want to bring someone down permanently. I rarely take tax scandals at face value.
The Chinese government does tend to use tax evasion against anyone they deemed a threat to the party (eg. artists, dissidents, disgraced government officials, etc.), but in this situation, Zheng and her ex sort of brought it onto themselves. In an attempt to smear each other, they exposed each other's income and tax irregularities online, which prompted an investigation, which resulted in both of them guilty of tax evasion. I believe Zheng Shuang is ordered to pay around 40-50 million USD in fines. Right now, she's in the States, but if she ever goes back to China, she'd probably need to pay the fine and any money she owes to investors.