The Lan Su Chinese Garden in Portland was vandalized overnight just before the annual Chinese Festival.
According to KGW, workers arrived at the Garden on Friday morning to find that a window had been broken with a slab of granite from the base of one of the bronze guardian lion statues positioned at the entrance of Portland’s Chinatown.
“The timing of this crime is especially disturbing,” the Garden said in a press release, according to KATU 2. “The annual Chinese Festival, which is meant to be a time of celebration and cultural unity, is tomorrow at Pioneer Courthouse Square.”
Workers believe that this was a bias crime.
“I believe this is an act of hate, targeting the Chinese community, and it is unacceptable,” said Lan Su Executive Director Elizabeth Nye in the release, according to KATU 2.
Nye has filed a police report.
In late 2021, the Garden announced it had hired private, armed security to protect the space. It is unclear if they have continued working with private security.
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