Bale rapped over bid to visit activist

Christian Bale should feel embarrassed for trying to visit an activist while he was in the country to promote a film which China has submitted for an Oscar, a Chinese government spokesman said today.

The British actor was physically prevented by government-backed guards from visiting blind activist Chen Guangcheng in eastern China last week. A CNN crew he was travelling with recorded the scuffle.

Asked whether the publicity has been embarrassing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said today that he thought Bale should feel embarrassed, not China.

He said the actor was invited by director Zhang Yimou to attend the opening ceremony of the film The Flowers Of War.

Mr Liu said: “He was not invited to fabricate news or shoot films in a certain village.”