Chen Guangcheng honored with human rights award
Christian
Bale was criticized in 2011 for his role in a movie that was accused of
being Chinese propaganda, but in an effort to prove critics wrongs he
attempted to meet Chen Guangcheng, the blind lawyer and forced-abortion
opponent then under house arrest, to bring attention to China's
atrocious one-child policy. Bale finally got the chance to shake the
man's hand Wednesday.
The star of the night was Mr. Chen, a self-taught lawyer who has drawn
attention to human rights abuses in China, in one case bringing a class
action lawsuit against officials in the Shandong Province for brutal
enforcement of the one-child policy. Consequently, he and his family
have been subjected to torture and imprisonment by the Chinese
government.