Vandals have defaced parts of the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden in Vancouver’s Chinatown neighbourhood.
“The blank Garden walls stretched along Keefer seems to be a popular canvas attracting eyesore graffiti,” Lorraine Lowe, the garden’s Executive Director, told Daily Hive by email. Lowe tweeted out images of the graffiti on Sunday, January 16.
@CityofVancouver @ParkBoard – Our cultural heritage bldg & pillar of #yvrchinatown community is once again being under attack. Grateful for a gated courtyard as I can’t imagine what damages would incur if it was opened up again. The graffiti is not very welcoming to tourists pic.twitter.com/1EBJJA7avG
— Lorraine Lowe (@lorrainelowe_) January 16, 2022
This most recent incident likely happened overnight on Saturday, January 15, and It’s not the first time the garden has suffered vandalism.
“We had some high-profile vandalism take place from a range of anti-asian sentiments and incoherent meaningless tags,” said Lowe.
In December 2020, the garden was similarly defaced with graffiti. Police investigated the incident at the time.
Daily Hive reached out to the Vancouver Police Department regarding the incident and a rep said that while VPD was not called initially, they have now been made aware of the incident.
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The photos posted to twitter sharing the recent graffiti got an immediate response from the community, including politicians.
“The scale of this vandalism and graffiti on treasured [Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden] is terrible and knocks the community down when it’s been struggling to rebound from a host of challenges from pandemic to anti-Asian hate,” wrote Vancouver city councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung.
Scale of this vandalism and graffiti on treasured @vangarden is terrible and knocks the community down when it’s been struggling to rebound from a host of challenges from pandemic to anti-Asian hate. This is not subsistence crime. It’s wilful, destructive damage. #YVRChinatown https://t.co/NoUH7ghBGe
— Sarah Kirby-Yung 楊瑞蘭 (@sarahkirby_yung) January 16, 2022
This senseless vandalism at @vangarden is unacceptable – especially at a time when anti-Asian hate is on the rise & cultural institutions that are the fabric of our communities are challenged due to the pandemic.
One way to support: go visit the Garden!#yvrchinatown #Vancouver https://t.co/pJOWQ7mG0ithe — Taleeb Noormohamed 🇨🇦 (@Taleeb) January 16, 2022
“This senseless vandalism…is unacceptable – especially at a time when anti-Asian hate is on the rise & cultural institutions that are the fabric of our communities are challenged due to the pandemic,” tweeted Vancouver Granville MP Taleeb Noormohamed.
“We are very grateful for all the support we have received from not just politicians but concerned residents in our community,” said Lowe.
“The Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden is a very unique space and a symbol and pillar of our cultural heritage and Chinatown community.”
“We pride ourselves as being a safe and inclusive space for everyone to come together and enjoy. When we witness our cultural heritage assets being vandalized like this, it’s not only an attack on our institution, but all those marginalized groups we help to serve in our community.”
The garden reopened in April 2021 and is now open Wednesday to Sunday from 10 am to 3 pm.
With files from Daily Hive Staff.