‘Batman’ star Christian Bale assaulted in China

New York: ‘Batman’ star Christian Bale has been reportedly assaulted by government-backed Chinese security guards on Thursday when he tried to visit a blind lawyer who has been illegally confined to his home.

Bale, joined by a camera crew of TV channel CNN, was confronted by four men dressed in plain clothes as he tried to visit Chen Guangcheng who has been under house arrest in the Dongshigu village for 15 months, reported New York Times. The Oscar-winning actor can be seen being pushed and shoved by the guards in the video released by the news channel. "Why can I not visit this free man?" Bale can be heard repeatedly asking the security officers, while they were pushing him. In response the guards are reported to have shouted "Go away!" while physically shoving Bale and the crew. The 37-year-old actor was also punched by the guards who were aiming for his small camera in an attempt to stop him recording. Once Bale and the crew left the area, they were pursued by a grey minivan for over half-an-hour. "What I really wanted to do is to shake the man`s hand and say `Thank you`, and tell him what an inspiration he is. You know, I`m not being brave doing this," Bale added. The actor was in China for the premiere of his latest film `The Flowers of War`. Guangchenga angered authorities in 2005 by exposing forced abortions as part of China`s one-child policy. The 40-year-old has since been confined to his home along with his wife, mother and daughter, and watched around the clock by guards. PTI