Falun Gong and live organ harvesting

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On 9 March 2006, allegations were made of organ harvesting on living Falun Gong practitioners at the Sujiatun detention compound, an alleged labor camp and part of the China Traditional Medicine Thrombosis Treatment Center, a joint-venture with Malaysian healthcare company Contry Heights Health Sanctuary and subject oversight beyond local Chinese authority, located in Shenyang City, Liaoning province. According to at least two witnesses interviewed by The Epoch Times, internal organs of living Falun Gong practitioners have been harvested and sold to the black market, and the bodies have been cremated in the hospital's boiler room. The witnesses make allegations of nobody coming out of the camp alive, as well as six thousand practitioners being held captive at the hospital since 2001, two-thirds of whom have died to date. According to these sources, removed organs include hearts, kidneys, livers and cornea. The news was quickly covered by some minor media outlets, including the Metro newspaper in Spain and Holland's APS.

The World Organization to Investigate the Persectution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG), an organization "initiated" by Falun Gong[1], providing evidence for organ harvesting from live Falun Gong practitioners, have released recordings of telephone messages.[2] Transcription of a telephone message recorded by WOIPFG says:

A: Hi. Is this Zhongguo Medical University’s Director Song?

B: Yes, please speak...

A: …..His doctor told him that the kidney is quite good because he practices gong(=qigong). Then asked which qigong? He said Falun gong. People know that when practising Falun Gong the health would be better.

B: Of course. We have all those who breathe and with heart beat. We have these. Up until now, for this year, we have more than 10 hearts, more than 10 such hearts.

A: More than 10 of this kind of hearts? You meant live bodies?

B: Yes, it’s so.

( Dated: March 30, 2006 )

According to The Epoch Times, Timothy Cooper, the executive director of Worldrights, said in a Washington D.C. rally against alleged Chinese human rights violations on March 12[3]: "If what has been reported is accurate, then Shenyang has become the Auschwitz of China. But this time, unlike the situation during the Second World War in Nazi Germany, America must not fail to act. America must not fail to confront these atrocities — unimaginable in any civilized society" and "A whole new level of depravity is being practiced by the CPC." Also, Nina Shea from Freedom House has called for investigation of the case [4]. Guido Tastenhoye, a member of the Belgian parliament, has questioned Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs Karel De Gucht about the imprisonment of Falun Gong practitioners in Sujiatun. [5] Worldrights and Freedom House themselves have not covered any of the above in their websites and press releases.

Taipei Times covered the allegations on 21 March 2006[6], and The Washington Times covered them on 24 March in an article by Bill Gertz. According to the article, Jin Zhong (a pseudonym for the journalist who fled China recently) said he first learned of the harvesting operation between October and December. Mr Jin, who in the past has been a contributor to a Japanese news agency, calls Sujiatun "a murder sponsored by a state". Jin came across the underground detention center while researching the Chinese government's response to SARS. The article claims that several other hospital workers have also revealed details about the prisoner organ harvesting. Jin Zhong has had to hide his true identity after being threatened by Chinese government agents. He was arrested twice for his reporting and recently fled to the United States, where he hopes to seek political asylum. Jin also professes that the bodies of prisoners were burned in the boiler room of the hospital and that boiler room workers had taken jewelry and watches from the dead and sold them.[7]

On 28 March, over two weeks after the allegations surfaced, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Qin Gang stated: "This absurd lie is not worth refuting and no one will buy it." He also urged reporters to go to Shenyang's Sujiatun district to look into the claims.[8] However, the official website of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China made no mention of this in their coverage of the press conference.[9]

On 30 March, Reuters released an article entitled "U.N. envoy looks at Falun Gong torture allegations". According to the report, the United Nations torture investigator Manfred Nowak shall be looking into the Sujiatun case. "I am presently in the process of investigating as far as I can these allegations ... If I come to the conclusion that it is a serious and well-founded allegation, then I will officially submit it to attention of the Chinese government," he told a news briefing. Nowak also stated that he found torture widespread in China when he got to visit the country in late 2005 after a decade of negotiations. Furthermore, Nowak's new report insisted on the Chinese government to abolish its "re-education through labour" system and urged authorities to release all political prisoners and people held for exercising their right to freedom of speech, assembly and religion. China has denied earlier abuse and torture charges made by Nowak and asked the U.N. envoy to "think again." [1]

On 30 March, Epoch Times reported that a new informant, identifying himself as a veteran military doctor in Shenyang military zone, has told about a system of similar concentration camps in China. Because the Chinese government has defined Falun Gong practitioners as class enemies, they're officially declared as felons. The informant claims: "The reports from outside China about Sujiatun Concentration Camp imprisoning Falun Gong practitioners are true, although some of the details are incorrect." He says that more than 10,000 people were detained in Sujiatun in early 2005, but now the number of detainees is maintained at 600-750. Many detainees have been transferred to other camps, especially after the news on Sujiatun was publicized. The informant also asserts that the hospital in Sujiatun is only one of 36 similar camps all over China. Jilin camp, codenamed 672-S, holds over 120,000 people, not only Falun Gong practitioners. Specially dispatched freight trains can transfer 5,000-7,000 people in one night, and everyone on the trains is handcuffed to specially designed handrails on top of the ceiling, claims the informant.

On April 1, 2006, The Australian published initial finding from US congressional researcher that the concentration camp allegation is substantially exaggerated.

On April 4, 2006, Falun Gong announced the establishment of the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong in China (CIPFG) on their 'clearwisdom' website [2]. However, as of April 21, 2006, despite Qin Gang's invitation, several members have been denied visas to China according to the clearwisdom.net website [3].

On April 13, 2006, the official from the hospital gave the following statement: “the hospital is lacking the required facilities to conduct organ transplants and has no basement to house the Falun Gong practitioners.” [4]. According to a document from Ministry of Health of Malaysia, this hospital--Liaoning Thrombus Medical Treatment Center--is not a state owned company but one partly invested by a Malaysian company (Country Heights Health Sanctuary). And in an official visit to China the Minister of Health of Malaysia visited the hospital in September, 2004.

On April 14, 2006, US State Department released a statement [5] [6] that "found no evidence that the site is being used for any function other than as a normal public hospital". The hospital itself was a joint venture with a Malaysian government-sponsored company[7], open to foreign visitors.

On Apr 19, 2006, UK's Sky News reporter took camera undercover inside Chinese hospitals where nurses and doctors confirm readily-available organs are taken from "prisoners" and that the hospital's abundance of "donors" is due to its close connections with Chinese security forces[8]. Sky News's Website states:

China has been accused of taking organs from executed prisoners to supply the international transplant market. British surgeons say there is evidence that prisoners are being selected as potential donors before they are killed[9].

As of April 21, 2006, despite Qin Gang's invitation, several CIPFG members have been denied visas to China according to The Epoch Times[10].

On May 8, 2006, a press conference was held in Ottawa, Canada, in which Former chairman of Canada's Sub-Committee on Human Rights of the Committee of Foreign Affairs and former director of the Asian Pacific Division of Canada's Foreign Affairs Ministry, Mr. David Kilgour, and international human rights attorney Mr. David Matas, announced that they will jointly lead the efforts to investigate the organ harvesting from living Falun Gong practitioners by the Communist Party of China. Mr. Kilgour stated that he wished the investigation to be completely independent. As of the press conference, the plan includes interviewing witnesses and telephone investigators from the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, as well as going to China to conduct on-site investigations[11]

Some human rights activists are also skeptical of Falun Gong's claims. Harry Wu, best known for his investigations of Laogai and alleged organ harvesting of executed prisoners, claimed that the allegations were just heresay. "No pictures, no witnesses, no paperwork, no detailed information at all, nothing." [12]

On June 13, 2006, Edward McMillan-Scott, vice president of the European Parliament, wrote what he heard from Falun Gong practitioners on the alleged organ harvesting [10].

Nearly 400 hospitals in China share the booming trade in transplants, with websites advertising new kidneys for $60,000. Administrators tell inquirers: "Yes, it will be a Falun Gong, so it will be clean."

The two people he interviewed in China were missing after meeting with him [10].

On July 6, 2006, David Kilgour, a former Liberal cabinet minister in Canada, and David Matas, an immigration lawyer[11], after two months of interviewing people in Canada, the United States, Europe and Australia, announced that they had found "credible evidence that the organs of Falun Gong adherents in China are being harvested for paid transplants." [12] [13][14][15]

During the press conference on July 6, 2006, they presented their 69-page long report[16][17] [18].

In the report, phone transcripts were provided to Matas and Kilgour by World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong[16].

One transcript of their phone calls to Chinese doctors reads[16]:

  • Q: "How many Falun Gong suppliers under the age of 40 do you have?
  • A: "Quite a few."
  • Q: "It (the organ) was from healthy Falun Gong practitioners?"
  • A: "Correct, we would choose the good ones because we ensure the quality in our operation."
  • Q: "You choose the organs yourself?"
  • A: "Correct."

Another transcript of their phone calls to a Mr. Li in the Mishan City Detention Center in Heilongjiang province reads [19][20]:

"Do you have Falun Gong organ suppliers?" "We used to have, yes." "What about now?" "Yes."

On July 6, 2006, Matas told reporters that China, which has repeatedly denied similar allegations[21][22], refused entry to both to investigate the claims further [23].

The report supports the allegations of China's harvesting organs from live Falun Gong practitioners and calls for international concerns[24][25][26][27] [28]"Believe me, I used to be a prosecutor. I knew there would be cynicism and I did my utmost to make sure that everything was satisfactorily and properly and ethically done," Kilgour said. "Our findings are shocking. To us, this is a form of evil we have yet to see on this planet," Matas said the live organ harvesting practice amounted to a crime against humanity.[19]

On July 20, 2006, two members of the Canadian independent investigation team, David Kilgour and David Matas, held a press conference at the National Press Club. They announced their two-month investigation into allegations of the CCP's organ removal from Falun Gong practitioners and answered questions from participants. [29]

On July 24, 2006, human rights lawyer Dr. Terri Marsh officially delivered a criminal complaint on to the Massachusetts Prosecutor's Office during the first World Transplant Congress held in late July 2006 in Boston[30] . This is the first international human rights lawsuit that Falun Gong has lodged regarding the allegations related to live organ harvesting. The defendants in the criminal complaint are the visiting president of Tongji Hospital Transplantation Research Institute in Wuhan City, Chen Zhonghua, and the dean of Zhongshan Hospital Organ Transplantation Center in Shanghai, Zhu Tongyu. They stand accused of violating the United States' "Torture Criminal Statute" (Title 18 USCA Section2340A) and "Torture Convention" approved and implemented by the United States in 1994. [31]

On July 24, 2006, Associate Director of the Program in Human Rights and Medicine in the University of Minnesota, Kirk C. Allison, PhD, MS released a statement on a forum held on the World Transplant Congress in Boston, confirming the Matas report and calling for academia and medical circles stop cooperation with CCP on organ transplantation [32].

On July 26, 2006, a third Chinese doctor, the director of Tianjin Oriental Organ Transplant Center, Shen, Zhongyang, was sued with crime of torture. All the defendants were charged mainly because doctors in the hospitals where they are directors admitted in recorded telephone conversation that the sources of the hospitals' organ transplants include Falun Gong practitioners.[33]

According to South China Morning Post news on 9 August 2006, Harry Wu of DC dissident group China Information Center and Laogai Research Foundation questioned the feasibility of the claims. He said a total of 4,500 victims "would mean 1,500 persons per year, or at least 120 persons per month whose organs were removed". [34].

"This would be impossible to accomplish in an environment such as Sujiatun," he said. "China takes organs from many executed prisoners every year, but to kill 4,000 or 5,000 people, I don't think so. Professional doctors would not do this." He also cast doubt on claims that a doctor removed corneas from 2,000 followers in less than two years.

David Matas, an international human rights lawyer who co-authored an independent report which supports the Falun Gong claims, countered Mr Wu's argument that it would be impossible to remove the corneas from 2,000 people in such a short time span.

"The process of removing the eyes takes only 20 minutes," he said, adding that one surgeon could remove the corneas from 2,000 bodies in just 83 days.

He said further that he and co-author David Kilgour had obtained more information since their first report came out last month that would be incorporated into a new report next month.

On August 14, 2006, US National Kidney Foundation released a statement expressing their concerns in response to the "Report into Allegations of Organ Harvesting of Falun Practitioners in China" by Kilgour and Matas. [35].

In an interview by Australian Broadcasting Corporation on on August 15, 2006, David Kilgour defended the claims of living organ harvesting.[36]. Regarding Mr. Harry Wu's saying, Kilgour said: "Well, everything that Harry has said - and believe me I have gone over this very carefully with him and I have great respect for Harry Wu. Everything that Harry is talking about happened after March the 9th, when, basically, the whistle was blown by two individuals. We're talking about things that happened before March the 9th and that's really the fundamental difference between them. But the reality is that her husband, over a 2-year period, told her - until he refused to do it anymore - that he had taken corneas from 2,000 - approximately 2,000 human beings. People say you can't do that many operations, but as we've discovered, you can take corneas out of a person's body in about 20 minutes. As somebody worked it out for us, he could have done this in about 83 days, working very hard for 83 days. So to suggest that he couldn't have done it in a 2-year period is not true."

On August 14, 2006, Rowan Callick, China correspondent for The Australian reported "Chinese dissident doubts organ Harvest claim" [37]

On September 29, 2006, the United States Congress held a hearing for organ harvesting of living Falun Gong practitioners.[38][39][40]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Brian Adeba (July 12, 2006) "How Falun Gong Reached the Media Over Organ Harvesting", Embassy, retrieved July 13, 2006
  2. ^ World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, "Telephone Messages: Evidences of Harvesting Organs from Live Falun Gong Practitioners in China", retrieved July 6, 2006
  3. ^ CSN (March 13, 2006) "Washington and Hong Kong rallies cap off a busy week in China / freedom issues", China Support Network, retrieved July 7, 2006
  4. ^ Shea, Nina (March 16, 2006) [http://wwwa.house.gov/international_relations/109/she031606.pdf "Testimony of Nina Shea, Director Center for Religious Freedom, Freedom House Before the COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SUBCOMMITTEE ON AFRICA, GLOBAL HUMAN RIGHTS AND INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS"], wwwa.house.gov, retrieved July 7, 2006
  5. ^ Belgium Senate (April 20, 2006) "Belgium Senate Session ordinaire 2005-2006", www.senate.be, retrieved July 7, 2006
  6. ^ DPA (March 21, 2006) "Falun Gong says China harvesting organs in camp", Taipei Times, retrieved November 23, 2006
  7. ^ Gertz, Bill (March 24, 2006) "China harvesting inmates' organs, journalist says", Washington Times, retrieved July 6, 2006
  8. ^ "China negatives Falun Gong allegations of organ harvesting" (March 28, 2006) Pravda, retrieved July 8, 2006
  9. ^ "Foreign Ministry Spokesman Qin Gang's Regular Press Conference on 28 March 2006", Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, retrieved July 8, 2006
  10. ^ a b McMillan-Scott, Edward (June 13, 2006) "Secret atrocities of Chinese regime", Yorkshire Post Today: Columnists, retrieved June 28, 2006
  11. ^ Merritt, Brookes (June 23, 2006) "Organs harvested from Falun Gong prisoners, Kilgour says--'Wait to be butchered for highest bidder'", Edmontonsun.com, retrieved July 8, 2006
  12. ^ Clark, Campbell (July 6, 2006) "China harvesting organs, Canadians say", Globe and Mail, retrieved July 6, 2006
  13. ^ Canadian Press (July 6, 2006) "Report claims China kills prisoners to harvest organs for transplant", Canada.com, retrieved July 6, 2006
  14. ^ AFP (July 6, 2006) "Report alleges China harvests body parts from live inmates", Todayonline.com, retrieved July 7, 2006
  15. ^ Kirstin Endemann and Darah Hansen, Canwest News Service; Vancouver Sun (July 6, 2006) "China kills Falun Gong members for organs, ex-MP says", Canada.com, retrieved July 6, 2006
  16. ^ a b c Matas, David and Kilgour, David (July 6, 2006) "Report into Allegations of Organ Harvesting of Falun Gong Practitioners in China", Report into Allegations of Organ Harvesting of Falun Gong Practitioners in China, retrieved August 6, 2006
  17. ^ Cook, Michael (July 12, 2006)"Are Chinese doctors harvesting organs from Falun Gong prisoners?", MercatorNet, retrieved July 17, 2006
  18. ^ CBC News (July 6, 2006) "China harvesting Falun Gong organs, report alleges", CBC News, retrieved July 6, 2006
  19. ^ a b Reuters (July 6, 2006)"Team says China harvests Falun Gong organs", boston.com, retrieved July 8, 2006
  20. ^ CTV.ca News Staff (July 4, 2006) "China involved in harvesting organs: Cdn. report", CTV.ca, retrieved July 6, 2006
  21. ^ Canadian Press (July 7, 2006) "Report claims China kills prisoners to harvest organs for transplant", canada.com, retrieved July 8, 2006
  22. ^ CTV.ca News Staff (July 6, 2006) "Chinese embassy denies organ harvesting report", CTV.ca, retrieved July 8, 2006
  23. ^ AFP(July 6, 2006)"China 'harvests live organs'", News24.com, retrieved July 7, 2006
  24. ^ Kirstin Endemann, CanWest News Service; Ottawa Citizen (July 6, 2006)"Ottawa urged to stop Canadians travelling to China for transplants", Canada.com, retrieved July 6, 2006
  25. ^ Reuters, AP (July 8, 2006)"Falun Gong organ claim supported",The Age, retrieved July 7, 2006
  26. ^ Reuters (July 8, 2006)"Report backs organ harvest claim",NZHerald.co.nz Weekend Herald, retrieved July 7, 2006
  27. ^ Calgary Herald (July 5, 2006)"Rights concerns bedevil China--Doing trade with regime must be balanced with values",Canada.com, retrieved July 8, 2006
  28. ^ The Monitor's View (August 3, 2006)"Organ harvesting and China's openness", The Christian Science Monitor, retrieved August 6, 2006
  29. ^ US Newswire(July 20, 2006) "Independent Investigators to Present Findings From Investigation on China's Organ Harvesting From Prisoners of Conscience", US Newswire, retrieved July 26, 2006
  30. ^ Lamb, Gregory M. (August 3, 2006) "China faces suspicions about organ harvesting", The Christian Science Monitor, retrieved August 6, 2006
  31. ^ Clearwisdom (July 26, 2006) "Falun Gong Group Files Criminal Complaint against Chinese Doctors for Committing the Crime of Torture by Harvesting Organs from Living People", Clearwisdom, retrieved July 26, 2006
  32. ^ The Epoch Times (August 7, 2006)"Mounting Evidence of Falun Gong Practitioners used as Organ Sources in China and Related Ethical Responsibilities", The Epoch Times, retrieved August 10, 2006
  33. ^ Clearwisdom (July 28, 2006) "Director Shen Zhongyang of the Tianjin Organ Transplantation Center Charged with Crime of Torture in the U.S.", Clearwisdom, retrieved July 29, 2006
  34. ^ Paul Mooney in Beijing, (August 9, 2006) Activist Harry Wu challenges organ harvesting claims
  35. ^ National Kidney Foundation (August 14, 2006), National Kidney Foundation Statement about Alleged Human Rights Violations in Organ Donation New York, NY, retrieved August 18, 2006
  36. ^ Tony Jones, (August 15, 2006) Canadian activist defends claims of killings in China, ABC, retrieved August 18, 2006
  37. ^ Rowan Callick, The Australian, Chinese dissident doubts organ Harvest claim
  38. ^ Kirk C. Allison, University of Minnesota (September 29, 2006)Submitted Testimony on OPEN HEARING OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND INVESTIGATIONS--Falun Gong: Organ Harvesting and China's Ongoing War on Human Rights
  39. ^ "WordPress.com",Organ harvesting in China Called ‘Shocking’ in Congressional hearing
  40. ^ Melinda Smith, VOA news, (03 October 2006)Reports of Sale of Executed Falun Gong Prisoners' Organs in China Called 'Shocking'

[edit] See also

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