PORTLAND, Ore. — The Lan Su Chinese Garden in Portland's Old Town/Chinatown neighborhood was vandalized and damaged overnight, the organization reported Friday morning. The garden's staff said they were concerned that the incident could have been a targeted attack, raising the possibility of a bias crime. The garden remains open, according to a news release.
Staff arrived Friday to find a hole smashed in one of the windows of the garden's teahouse and a slab of granite on the floor inside. There were more pieces of granite scattered around outside the garden, and they all appeared to have come from one of the bronze guardian lion statues at the entrance to Old Town, several blocks away from the garden. A large chunk of the granite base on one of the statues was missing Friday and appeared to have been broken off.
The incident also comes one day before the 2023 Chinese Festival, the garden staff noted. The festival is scheduled for Saturday at Pioneer Courthouse Square.
"I believe this is an act of hate, targeting the Chinese community, and it is unacceptable," said Lan Su Executive Director Elizabeth Nye. "We stand with the Chinese community and will not let this senseless crime deter us from our mission to inspire, engage, and educate the community about Chinese culture. We plan to be at the Chinese Festival tomorrow, and we encourage everyone to join us in support."
On Friday evening, the Portland Police Bureau added additional context to an earlier statement saying that there was "no evidence to support a bias crime at this time." Officers consulted with a supervisor on the Major Crimes Unit, which investigates bias crimes, and a spokesperson said that the supervisor wasn't comfortable concluding whether or not it could be a hate crime.
"Out of an abundance of caution, the Major Crimes Unit both consulted with the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office and assigned a detective to investigate and gather all possible information before a final determination is made," PPB said.
Portland police said in their initial statement that officers responded to the garden Friday morning to take a report of the vandalism, but there were no known witnesses and no suspect information could be obtained. The case is still under investigation.
Lan Su Chinese Garden is one of many businesses in Old Town that have struggled with rising crime and safety issues in recent years. In a 2021 newsletter, Nye said staff had been assaulted and the garden had to hire private security. Nye and other business and nonprofit leaders in the neighborhood have previously called for more action from city officials.
Anyone with more information on the case is asked to call PPB's non-emergency number at (503) 823-3333 or email crimetips@police.portlandoregon.gov and reference case #23-204060.