Graffiti vandalism on Vancouver's Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden is an attack on marginalized communities, says director
Vancouver’s Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden was targeted with extensive graffiti Saturday night.
The gardens, located in the city’s historic Chinatown, are a cultural hub for Metro Vancouver’s Chinese-Canadian community.
Executive director Lorraine Lowe says staff alerted her to the many large, spray-painted tags on the garden’s white outer walls, around 9 a.m. on Sunday.
“It is very disheartening because, you know, it's a symbol and pillar of our cultural heritage and our community. So, you know, it's sad,” she said.
Other recent incidents of graffiti vandalism on the institution have been racially targeted, but Lowe says it appears this time it’s just the large tags.
As a well-known attraction, the society is also an economic driver for the area, attracting visitors who then shop and eat nearby as part of their visit.
“It's not just an attack on our nation, but an attack on all the communities and groups we serve, the marginalized communities, we serve the LGBT community, the Pride in Chinatown (group), and the Chinese Canadian Indigenous art exhibition engagement that we just had,” Lowe said.
“I feel that it's important for us to be recognized as a safe and inclusive space for everyone to share…(so) this type of vandalism and attack on our institution is quite concerning and disheartening.”
“I just hope that on a world stage we're not viewed as this place as being dangerous, rather, we are an oasis in the whole heart of the city and…inside (the garden walls) it's beautiful,” Lowe said.
The economic recession and COVID-19 pandemic have hit the garden hard, and vandalism is the opposite of what the garden – and community – need, Lowe said.
“We've been down for quite some time and you know, this is just another thing…(and it has happened) so close to Chinese New Year. We want to make sure that we have a very successful Chinese New Year,” she said.
Lowe said that garbage, human urine and feces are frequently found surrounding the garden and at the main gates.
“When our staff arrives at 9 a.m. in the morning, and we have to open our doors at 10 a.m., the waft of smell and the urine – it's just, I don't know if it's targeted, it's starting to feel like it is over a course of repeated incidences.”
“There's other places to defecate – whatever – but it just seems to happen all the time where our entrance gate is right on Carrall Street.”
“So knowing that we are a representation of the Chinese Canadian community and the cultural heritage…knowing that we are being under attack…broken windows, graffiti, I do find it very concerning,” she said.
Garden staff reported the incident to police on Sunday morning, and by the early afternoon cleanup and a paint-over had begun, Lowe said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.