Vancouver police investigate troubling incidents at Chinese consulate

Police are hoping to identify two men involved in two incidents of “mischief” outside of the Chinese consulate in Vancouver.

A man parked a dark-coloured Ford Escape near the front of the Chinese consulate near Granville Street and West 16th Avenue on March 22, then spat on a plaque dedicated to the Chinese Consular General and tossed a white substance on it, police say.

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The man then tried to block a consulate employee who was trying to leave the building, spitting on the vehicle and verbally berating the driver.

The suspect got back into his vehicle and headed north on Granville Street.

Police described the suspect as a man in his 70s with a thin build and white hair, who was wearing a dark jacket, dark pants, dark shoes and a dark baseball cap.

In a separate incident on April 4, a man spray-painted graffiti on the gate and wall of the consulate at around 3 a.m. before heading north on Granville Street.

The suspect in this case is described as a Caucasian man with a heavy build between 30 and 40 years of age. He was wearing dark pants, a grey hooded sweater with a black “Batman” logo on the chest and dark shoes.

“These are such disrespectful and intolerable acts,” VPD Const. Tania Visintin said in a statement.