Christian Bale honors Chen Guangcheng for fighting abortions in China
Encouraging to see the atrocity of China’s one-child forced abortion/sterilization policy spotlighted at a New York social gala….
Press release from Reggie Littlejohn, President, Women’s Rights Without Frontiers:
New York: On Thursday actor Christian Bale presented blind forced abortion opponent Chen Guangcheng with an award at the annual gala of Human Rights First.
In December 2011, while Chen was still in China under house arrest, Bale attempted to visit Chen but was roughed up by thugs, who prevented him from visiting Chen’s village. Bale said at that time, “What I really wanted to do was shake the man’s hand and say ‘thank you,’ and tell him what an inspiration he is.”
Chen dramatically escaped house arrest and arrived in the United States in May 2012. The two men met for the first time tonight, when Bale presented Chen with the award.
Bale praised Chen for his bravery and for symbolizing the hopes of the people of China to live in freedom. Significantly, Bale also highlighted Chen’s fight against forced abortion in China. Bale stated,
“He [Chen] had exposed a program of forced abortion and sterilization in Shandong. A program of forced abortion means that women are being dragged from their homes against their will. They are being forced to have abortions, sometimes late-term – imagine that – with some women reportedly dying in the process. Now this is true horror. And in this insane world, this man, Chen, who was helping these women – who was living by some of the most simple, brave and universally admired values – values that we teach our children every day, and helping our fellow man – for this, this man was imprisoned and beaten for over four years.”…
“At the same time,” Littlejohn added, “Christian Bale has become a human rights champion in his own right. He risked his safety to visit Chen last December. His attack by Chinese thugs brought visibility to Chen’s case. This visibility greatly helped the international effort to free Chen. And Bale is brave to condemn the practice of forced abortion in China. Women’s Rights Without Frontiers salutes both men.”
Video here:
More from Wall Street Journal:
The annual dinner sponsored by Human Rights First was held at Pier Sixty, Chelsea Piers in New York City and hosted by Meredith Vieira….
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.
Mr. Bale had the honor of introducing Mr. Chen and presenting his award. The actor played a clip from his attempt to visit Mr. Chen in December, during which he brought along members of the press. At the time, Mr. Chen was under house arrest and Mr. Bale and the crew were forcibly turned away. Even though they knew they were unlikely to meet Mr. Chen, Mr. Bale hoped to draw attention to Mr. Chen’s story. Mr. Bale joked that his efforts were successful to some, while others just enjoyed seeing a “stupid actor get roughed up.”
Chen Guangcheng embraced Mr. Bale and was moved to tears when accepting the award.
[Photo via WSJ]
Jill Stanek is a nurse turned speaker, columnist and blogger, a national figure in the effort to protect both preborn and postborn innocent human life.
Kudos to Mr. Bale, when criticized about being too friendly to China in that film about the pre-WWII massacre, he put his money where his mouth is and made a risky attempt to bring attention to China’s barbaric one-child policy.
I can’t think of anyone more desrving of the honor. Bravo, Chen Guangcheng!
This is incredibly touching and heart-warming. I only wish more actors would lean on the side of life. Not sure what Bale’s view on non-forced abortion is, but he definitely deserves to be commended for what he did for Chen.
Congratulations, Chen.
C’mon, Mr. Bale….you’re so close! And I know you’re a good person after what you did for those shooting victims in Colorado. Mr. Bale…if it’s not right to kill these children because their moms want them, it’s not right to kill them when their moms DON’T want them, too!
I love the top photo!!
Abortion Advocates Silent on Chen’s Bravery.
“In the United States, much of the support for Chen has come from those who oppose abortion. But where are the abortion rights supporters? There is so much talk about the search for common ground on the abortion issue — sincere talk, I believe. But if the brutal oppression of women robbed of any semblance of “choice” isn’t something we can all agree on, I don’t know what would be.” – Washington Post Reporter, Melinda Henneberger
Wondering if Chen’s for any kind of abortion.
Wondering if Chen and Bale were taken back behind the woodshed by any pro-abort liberals.
Forced abortion, Bale was careful to point out, was when a woman was dragged from her home.
What about the girls who are dragged to the abortion clinic by relatives and lovers. Can they trust the cops to protect them> What are our protections. Pro-aborts are not pro-women, or those protections would be in place for vulnerable young American women in pregnancy crisis.
Congrats, Mr. Guangcheng! Also, my son Fox Christian M. is named for Christian Bale
I agree wtih xalisae ..
A step in the right direction is still a step in the right direction. Let’s remember some people take baby steps to arrive on the pro-life side, and some people take bigger steps. We must pray and hope for all people, whether they understand or not.
P.S. I do see your point, though, xalisae. When someone is SO CLOSE to the Truth and hasn’t taken that last step it’s easy to think “oh come on!”
heck I never go to the movies & Bale is my hero! two amazing people who practise the tradition of caring when it just isn’t fashionable anymore.
Everything I’ve read about Chen Guangcheng from sources that aren’t pro-life blogs has implied that he is not pro-life by American political or social standards. I’ve read that he opposes forced abortion in China but does not even oppose the one-child policy. He has never issued any sort of statement about what we consider pro-life issues in America today. I’m kind of interested in how the pro-life movement has come to celebrate him as a hero when he doesn’t appear to have any connection to the pro-life movement or even discouraging women from having abortions if they want them.
Thank you, Ella, it helps.
Still, I can’t help but wonder. He jumped a fence, blind and escaped twice this way. He does have conviction.
I would hope if he could see the fetus’ struggle on the ultra sound, he would be moved to defend them as well. Alas.. you have a point.
I’ll be impressed when I see Christian Bale darken the driveway of an abortion mill. I ain’t holding my breath.
I don’t disagree with the tough critics here, but so many pro-choice/aborts love abortion so much that they don’t even want to acknowledge the problem so I gotta go with at least a small kudos to these gentlemen. Sincere question: Do we give props to pro-choicers who support some restrictions and safety regulations on abortion? (Oh wait, do they exist?!) Bale noted: “sometimes late-term – imagine that” – so I am hopeful as well!
Ya’, because there’s nothing quite like being murdered in a safer abortion mill.
“Ya’, because there’s nothing quite like being murdered in a safer abortion mill.”
Isn’t the idea behind regulations that it will reduce the number of murders? Or is this a great divide among pro-lifers?
Yes, unfortunately it is a great divide. Please think of it this way. Would you fight to reduce the number of your own children being murdered or would you fight to not have any of them murdered at all? We should hold the same standard for others as we do for our own families. It’s called loving your neighbor as yourself which Jesus said is the second greatest commandment.
Leaving aside the Incremental/Personhood merry-go-round (seriously, you’re not going to convince anyone, give it a rest), I also have to wonder about Chen Guangcheng’s pro-life credentials. Does he oppose any abortion, or just forced/coerced ones? Why or why not? I haven’t been able to find any info, and I’m hesitant to say he’s absolutely a pro-life hero unless he’s…well…pro-life. He’s obviously very compassionate (and unfathomably brave), so I have to hope that if he’s not pro-life he could be convinced if presented with the case for life.
Yes, I blissfully (and mom-nesia-ly) didn’t pay attention to the waters I was wading into, and for that I apologize. I appreciate all non-violent and non-apathetic approaches to end the horror that we all agree abortion is.
Could it be Chen is a closet pro-lifer who doesn’t want to be (any more) controversial, in the eyes of the supposed “human rights” crowd that is? (Do you see how I struggle to believe a pro-choicer would even incidentally fight for the preborn -despite the fact that it would be compatible with real “choice, at least by their alleged logic.)
So who are you trying to convince, Alice?
Lifejoy may have it right. Abortion will end when it is in our hearts to end it. Law can help, but will not stop it.
The forced abortion issue and the sex-selection issue force many to recognize what is wrong with abortion altogether. On the forced abortion issue, what has emerged, and should further be revealed, is that these are often after the first trimester, so the abortion patrols are extracting a quite developed looking fetus out of the mother. When the avg sleeping person sees that image, it is gruesome – and then you are on the way to quit deluding yourself that abortion rarely happens, it is just a blob, it only happens in rare understandable cases, and the entire fable –
The ignorance gets shattered – hopefully people move on to think, and realize that it is the law of the land to kill powerless human beings because we can – for convenience, to save money, to protect our dream of the future, to avoid embarrassment, and because others are pressuring for the aobrtion – and because these fetuses look different from us and have no political power of their own.
Too much swooning in these posts. In the pic, there is an actor, and a real man. A man who stuck his neck out, and probably has caused terrible things if not death to happen to family members to make a radical human rights gesture that should be recognized on the level with the Tiennanman Square kid, the civil rights lunch counter kids, etc.
Sadly, in that nation of so many ppl, there are others who have fought, but the story of their heroism has not gotten out due to multiple govt levels of suppression.
Well done, Chen. Despite Hilary’s lack of support in this intl ordeal, your message has gotten out, and its magnitude has been recognized. (in the meantime, hilary is polishing her Maggie Award.)
The title of the article is, “Christian Bale honors Chen Guangcheng for fighting abortions in China.” Then the article immediately mentions, “China’s one-child forced abortion/sterilization policy.” So it seems like Mr. Guangcheng’s fight was only against forced abortions. Apparently Mr. Guangcheng is pro-abortion, but with exceptions, and not 100% pro-life.