Land rights campaigners strike at second embassy

The Chinese embassy in Canada has become the second mission targeted with graffiti as part of a protest campaign by a US-based land rights group.

The Washington-based Sparrow Initiative confirmed yesterday its members were responsible for fixing a board with the Chinese character chai - meaning demolish or dismantle - to the gates of the embassy in Ottawa on Sunday.

The group also claimed responsibility for similar marks spray-painted on the gates of the Chinese embassy in Washington last week, a protest that coincided with high-level Sino-US economic talks.

The group's founder, Yang Jianli, also president of Initiatives for China, told the South China Morning Post the actions were intended as part of a month-long campaign against land grabs and forced evictions on the mainland.

The chai character is a familiar sight across the mainland, where it is sprayed onto buildings marked for demolition often as part of forced evictions.

"We have to do everything possible in a peaceful way to gain support and the most visible symbol is chai," Yang said.

"Eventually we will extend the meaning of the character to mean 'demolish this dictatorship'," Yang added