- PHOTOS: At least 45 arrests, some injuries in Chicago anti-NATO clashes
- Chen Guangcheng: Chinese dissident arrives in NYC
- High danger on city roofs
- Hero dad saves woman’s life after fall into subway tracks
- Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg marries girlfriend Priscilla Chan in surprise ceremony
- Weird news roundup: Don't call 911 for phone sex
- HBO's 'Girls' seeks hipster extras
x
Christian Bale assaulted by Chinese guards
Jason Merritt
On Thursday, December 15, actor Christian Bale was assaulted by Chinese government guards upon trying to visit Chen Guangcheng, a blind lawyer who had been confined to a form of house-arrest after he took on the case of thousands of local women who had been the victims of an aggressive family planning campaign that included forced sterilizations and abortions.
The run-in was captured by a CNN camera crew who accompanied Bale on the eight hour drive from Beijing to Dongshigu, where Chen lives.
In the video, Bale is seen pleading with the men who guard Dongshigu’s entry points and then retreating as they push and punch him. Bale repeatedly asks, “Why can I not visit this free man?” to which the guards respond by shouting, "Go away.”
After Bale and his posse retreated and returned to their car, they were chased for 40 minutes by men in a gray van.
“What I really wanted to do was to meet the man, shake his hand and say what an inspiration he is,” Bale said of Chen, a self taught lawyer.
In an added twist, Mr. Bale’s encounter with China’s authoritarian system will likely complicate efforts to publicize the his current movie, "The Flowers of War." The film, which premieres on December 23 in the United States and Europe, opens on 8,000 screens in China this week, and has been accompanied by a massive publicity effort in the country.
The run-in was captured by a CNN camera crew who accompanied Bale on the eight hour drive from Beijing to Dongshigu, where Chen lives.
In the video, Bale is seen pleading with the men who guard Dongshigu’s entry points and then retreating as they push and punch him. Bale repeatedly asks, “Why can I not visit this free man?” to which the guards respond by shouting, "Go away.”
After Bale and his posse retreated and returned to their car, they were chased for 40 minutes by men in a gray van.
“What I really wanted to do was to meet the man, shake his hand and say what an inspiration he is,” Bale said of Chen, a self taught lawyer.
In an added twist, Mr. Bale’s encounter with China’s authoritarian system will likely complicate efforts to publicize the his current movie, "The Flowers of War." The film, which premieres on December 23 in the United States and Europe, opens on 8,000 screens in China this week, and has been accompanied by a massive publicity effort in the country.
|
Add your comment |
_
|
Comments are not reviewed before posting. If you believe a comment has violated the commenting guidelines, please alert a moderator using links provided. |
| F E A T U R E D S P O N S O R S |
X
METRO.US:
READ THE PRINT
EDITION ONLINE:
EDITION ONLINE:
CONNECT
Copyright 2001-2012, Free Daily News Group Inc.