Falun Gong to appeal consulate protest ruling

Members of the group continue protest at Chinese consulate

Vancouver Sun: 2009 January 12

Falun Gong protesters will appeal a court ruling that forced them to remove permanent protest structures from the Chinese consulate, according to the group's lawyers.

On Jan. 29, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Sunni Stromberg-Stein ruled the Falun Gong must remove the protest hut and permanent billboards it has maintained outside the Granville Street consulate for the last seven years.

The structures have been taken down since the ruling but Joe Arvay, one of the lawyers who represented Falun Gong in the case, said the group "will be pursuing their appeal and there may be other developments."

He declined to elaborate. Meanwhile, Falun Gong members continued their protests at the consulate.

Protesters first erected a hut, banners and billboards in July 2001 protesting what the Falun Gong says is China's consistent persecution and torture of members of the religious group.

Former Vancouver mayor Sam Sullivan first ordered the structure dismantled in 2006, saying it was built without permission and encroached on the city sidewalk.

While the group's lawyers claimed freedom of expression was being stifled, the city raised concerns about liability and insurance, and claimed the group had never sought permission to erect the structures.

Lawyer Clive Ansley said Stromberg-Stein's ruling may render the group's protest less effective and less visible. He said many of the group's members are seniors who are unable to hold large banners and need the warmth of a structure.

"If the city can reduce it to a few people on the street with placards, then the Chinese communist government got what it wanted," Ansley said.