Surrey journalist awarded $275,000 in defamation case linked to unusual protest

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Richard Hewson has awarded journalist Bing Chen Gao $275,000 in a defamation lawsuit arising from protests outside Gao’s Guildford home in Surrey.

Hewson released reasons for judgment in Vancouver on Sept. 10. Gao sued Yun Fei Zhu, also known as Yunfei Zhu, over livestreams from protests held in 2020 and 2023 outside Gao’s home in the 9700-block of 149 Street. A group besieged the house for 77 days and alleged Gao was a spy for the Chinese government.

The judge said Gao was called a spy whose hands were covered in the blood of democracy activists during the livestreams, and that there was no evidence supporting those claims. Hewson found that Gao suffered severe distress from the defamatory statements, which included uninvestigated allegations of criminal conduct and treason.

The court awarded Gao $250,000 in general damages and $25,000 in aggravated damages. Gao testified that as many as 60 people took part in the protests, which were livestreamed about five hours a day to an audience he believed exceeded 100,000 viewers.

Zhu argued his statements were made in good faith, without malice and on matters of public interest. Hewson rejected those defences, finding that Zhu could not rely on responsible communication or fair comment.

In a separate civil assault and battery case connected to an incident in Gao’s cul-de-sac on Nov. 25, 2020, Justice Scott Morishita awarded Ning Yu Louis Huang $156,570.91 against Shiliang Yin and Mu Bai on May 15, following a four-day trial in New Westminster.