Falun Gong protests city's bid to remove wall

Dozens of Falun Gong practitioners held a silent vigilat the Chinese consulate in Vancouver on Wednesday to tryto persuade Mayor Sam Sullivan to allow their protest wall to remain in place on Granville Street.

The poster-covered blue plywood wall and small protest shack have been fixtures on the sidewalk in front of the consulate on Granvillefor the past five years.

The wall is covered withphotographs ofsome of the people the group claims were Falun Gong memberstortured or killed inChina.

The group says that more than 2,800 members of the Falun Gong spiritual movement have been tortured to death by the Chinese government.

But Sullivansaysfive yearsis long enough for the group to make its point and wants the structures removed. Last week, the citywent to B.C. Supreme Court seeking an order to force the wall's demolition, arguing it violatesbylaw. No date hasbeen set for a hearing.

Shirley Chen, who speaks for the Falun Data Association, saidSullivan should support freedom of speech. She also called on him to take an active role in stopping what she calls the persecution and genocide of the group.

"We believe that the right way for the city to bring an end to this peaceful appeal is for the mayor to make a more diligent effort to protest, and to end, the ongoing persecution."

The Falun Gong practitioners vow to maintain the around-the-clock vigil, but haven't said whether they would obey a court order to pack up and leave.