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Vancouver Falun Gong Protest Site Hearing Concludes
By Ben Taylor, NTDTV
November 10, 2008
CHAN：
Over
the past two years, the City of Vancouver has attempted to enforce a city
bylaw to dismantle the structures belonging to the Falun Gong’s 7-year
protest site outside the Chinese Consulate. A week-long court hearing
concluded on Friday with shocking submissions.
STORY：
During the
five-day hearing at B.C. Supreme Court, the City of Vancouver's lawyer and
Falun Gong’s legal team made arguments regarding the eviction of the
shelter and display boards at Falun Gong’s protest site.
Falun
Gong’s leal team presented Justice Sunni Stromberg-Stein with 25 points
highlighting their argument that Mayor Sam Sullivan’s attempts to get rid
of the protest are a result of his dealings with the Chinese consulate and
the regime in Beijing during trips to China.
Clive Ansley, a
lawyer on Falun Gong’s legal team, talks about the city’s “improper
purpose.”
[Clive Ansley, Lawyer for Falun Gong]:
“When we have a
foreign government that is alleged to be committing atrocities, crimes
against humanity, organ harvesting and so forth, then to suggest that the
citizens of Canada should forfeit their freedom of expression because
their display, their protest, is in front of this foreign government and
the foreign government owns the property on a private basis we just don’t
think that can be allowed to stand.”
Vancouver Falun Gong
spokeswoman Sue Zhang stressed the importance of the site to bring
awareness to the crimes against humanity and combat anti-Falun Gong
propaganda.
[Sue Zhang, Falun Gong
Spokeswoman]:
“The persecution of Falun Gong back in China was very
brutal, they includes torture, killing, and very serious hate propaganda
and also by the escalation in 2005, found out there is live organ
harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners to aid for the organ transplant
tourism.”
City Councilor David Cadman says that
Sullivan’s bylaw enforcement on Falun Gong’s vigil is a waste of
taxpayers’ money.
[David Cadman, City Councilor]:
“I said at
the time that it was a foolish decision. When you know it is a political
religious protest, you know it’s going to go to the senior levels of
government, senior levels of the courts, it’s going to be appealed to the
supreme court, and given are charter of rights and freedoms, there is very
little chance that the supreme court is going to uphold a taking down, on
a city bylaw, of a political religious civil protest. So it’s wasting
money on legal fees and I don’t think it’s a smart decision.”
The
City of Vancouver and their lawyer on this case, Tom Zworski, declined
interviews.
The 7-year protest site currently remains standing as
the verdict on the case awaits judgment from BC Supreme Court.
Ben
Taylor, NTD, Vancouver.
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