A gathering outside City Hall on Saturday afternoon called for more permanent solutions to help keep Edmonton's Chinatown a vibrant community.

Community leaders demanded immediate action from all levels of government, Edmonton Police Service, and social support agencies to ensure Chinatown and downtown remain safe and accessible for everyone.

Community spokesperson Jackson Ho said, "We want the authorities to realize that there are some outstanding issues."

On May 18, two men in their sixties who were working in different businesses in Chinatown, "Ban Phuc Huang" and "Hong Trang," were beaten to death in Chinatown, and a 36-year-old man was charged with second-degree murder.

At the march, incense was burned, and flowers were placed next to the pictures of "Huang" and "Trang." Ho said, "Today is really about raising awareness, not just about the situation that happened last week but in general, Chinatown is a community that requires safety and support from the city and the province."

He added, "We just want to be a vibrant community." "We want to make sure that all citizens, and all guests who enter Chinatown, have this feeling of safety."

People at the march held signs that read "We want action," "Safety and protection," and "Protection is safety."

Ho told CTV News Edmonton, "Chinatown is a beautiful culture." "It has been built through generations of hardworking citizens."

Ho added, "Chinatown is really part of downtown; people from all cultures come to Chinatown to enjoy."

Edmonton Police Chief Dale McFee attended the gathering and confirmed that the police service was listening and responding to the concerns of the Chinatown community.

He told reporters, "We lost two members of the community." "We clearly have a grieving community. McFee said: "They need help, and I think my role as a police chief is that I need to be here." "We need to find solutions, and we need to find them quickly, and that is my commitment."