Surrey, B.C., man awarded $275K after 77-day-long protest in front of his home
Yun Fei Zhu, the group "leader," was found to have made and published defamatory statements against Bing Chen Gao, a journalist and outspoken critic of the Chinese Communist Party.
Protestors gathered in front of Bing Chen Gao's Surrey house for 77 days straight in 2020
Michelle Gomez · CBC News
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A B.C. journalist has won a defamation lawsuit after a 77-day-long protest in front of his Surrey house in 2020.
In a Thursday decision, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Richard Hewson awarded Bing Chen Gao $275,000, finding defendant Yun Fei Zhu had published defamatory statements about him.
Gao testified that Zhu and others protested outside his home daily, starting Sept. 15, 2020, until Dec. 1, 2020.
Crowds ranged from about 10 to 60 people and the protests were livestreamed, mostly by Zhu, who was treated as a "leader," for about five hours a day to an online audience.
More protests and livestreams took place outside his house in 2023 from Jan. 20 to 25, according to the court document.
Gao said the protesters called him a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) spy, distributed pamphlets disclosing his home address, and played funeral music outside his house.
Guo Wenghui supporters
The protestors were supporters of Chinese tycoon Guo Wenghui, a public critic of the Chinese Communist Party. He started the New Federal State of China (NFSC), a political movement dedicated to replacing the CCP in China.
Two months ago, Guo was sentenced to 30 years in a U.S. prison for fraud.
"Some viewed Guo Wengui as a courageous dissident exposing corruption, while others regarded him and the NFSC as unreliable, conspiratorial and cult‑like," said Hewson’s decision.
It said Gao, who worked as a journalist, was an outspoken critic of Guo.
Gao was also a critic of the CCP — he was involved in the pro-democracy movement in China before he moved to Canada in 2004 — but those who protested outside his house accused him of being "a professional agent long trained by the CCP."
Some of the distributed pamphlets read:
"Gao disguises himself as an anti‑communism activist and has set up a special YouTube channel to spread false information on behalf of the CCP, steer public opinion, and defame real anti-communism activists and the Canadians who are against the CCP."
They also accused Gao of taking money from the CCP.
Throughout the livestreams, protestors could be heard chanting in English and Mandarin "CCP," "stinky dog poop," "trash," "we all hate your guts," and "everybody on this cul-de-sac hates you."
Zhu testified he stopped taking part in the demonstrations after an assault took place in the cul-de-sac, but returned for the protests in 2023.
Gao testified the assault was against a friend of his. He said protests affected his wife, young daughter, and elderly mother-in-law.
Hewson found Zhu was liable for defamatory comments made by himself and other speakers during the livestreams that he published.
Gao was awarded $250,000 in general damages and a further $25,000 in aggravated damages.
Hewson also ordered an injunction prohibiting Zhu from repeating defamatory statements and ordered him to pay Gao $5,000 in court costs.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michelle Gomez is a writer and reporter at CBC Vancouver. You can contact her at michelle.gomez@cbc.ca.
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