Ron Bijok, as Chairman of the Vancouver Heritage Area Planning Committee is heading the promotion of a Gate for Vancouver's Chinatown.  With the increasing density of surrounding residential neighbourhoods, Chinatown is becoming increasingly important as an urban crossroads in Vancouver.

A Gate over Pender will be an enormous symbolic contribution to Chinatown, highlighted by the proximity of the approaching millennium milestone.  Architecturally, it provides a wonderful transition between the scale of Chinatown and that of the adjacent neighbourhood.  At Taylor and Pender, it perfectly frames the most venerable of Chinatown’s institutions, the Chinese Cultural Centre.  It recalls an ancient tradition, allows Chinatown to announce itself, and provides a missing piece of the heritage puzzle.  Although it would be a strong statement to claim that a project of this nature could “revitalize” Chinatown, if any public intervention of this nature could encourage pride, identity and have a positive impact on Chinatown, the Gate will be that project.