The Chinese consulate in Sydney, Australia, has become the third diplomatic compound where the gates have been marked with the Chinese character chai, meaning demolition or dismantling, following similar vandalism at embassies in Washington and Ottawa.

For the Chinese public, the character chai written with a red circle on the outside wall of a building means it is to be demolished.

According to media reports, the message from the campaigners is that they oppose forced land seizures in many areas across China.

I do agree that forced demolitions and evictions have been a major source of grievances for a long time. 

A survey published in 2011 found that forced demolitions of homes had become the primary cause of social unrest and mass protests in China.

Nonetheless, the way that these people chose to express their protest is annoying.

Graffiti is by nature illicit, unless you scribble or spray on the wall of your own house. Senseless scratching or spraying usually does not cause a big problem, but the problem can become quite grave at times.

For example, in Germany, the national railway, Deutsche Bahn, has gone as far as using small drones to collect evidence to prosecute those perpetrators, as graffiti cleanup costs the company about $10 million a year.

Graffiti on the outside walls of the compounds of Chinese embassies is improper, to say the least.

After all, a foreign embassy represents the sovereignty of a country and is deemed inviolable, according to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.   

The use of questionable means to convey any message will naturally undercut the original goal of the initiative, however lofty it might be.

Chinese Internet users heeded the graffiti mainly because it happened to their embassies instead of some ordinary domestic buildings.

But when it comes to the issue of land grabs itself, it seems netizens are not really inspired by the campaign, partly because they have seen more startling cases against forcible resettlement, such as the self-immolation of a home owner in Southwest China's Sichuan Province.

The graffiti was planned to coincide with the start of the crucially important high-level Sino-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue in Washington. The idea was to force the topic onto the agenda of talks between Beijing and Washington.

One purpose of the graffiti organizers is said to draw more international media coverage to the issue. I have to disagree with the strategy of using foreign governments or media organs to exert pressure on China. 

China is developing rapidly and it has its problems, often created by the pursuit of rapid growth.

A successful solution to such challenges requires both the involvement of the government and the public in the long run.

Embarrassing the Chinese government, in particular in foreign countries, is not a constructive way of dealing with these teething development problems.

It remains unknown whether this graffiti method will be learned by more Chinese protestors. But realistically speaking, it will hardly make a difference except catching a few eye balls.

The author is a commentator on current affairs with China Radio International. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn