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⚫ | In March 2006, ''[[The Epoch Times]]'' published a number of articles alleging that the [[Chinese Communist Party|Chinese government]] and its agencies, including the [[People's Liberation Army]], were conducting widespread and systematic organ harvesting of living [[Falun Gong]] practitioners. It was alleged that practitioners detained in [[Persecution_of_Falun_Gong#Reeducation_through_labor|forced labour]] camps, hospital basements, or prisons, were being blood and urine tested, their information stored on computer databases, and then matched with organ recipients. When an organ was required, it alleged, they were injected with potassium to stop the heart, their organs removed and later sold, and their bodies incinerated. |
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{{POV|date=December 2007}} |
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The first series of allegations were based on apparent eye-witness testimony of two individuals, and directed specifically at the Sujiatun Thrombosis Hospital in [[Shenyang]], [[Liaoning]] province. The story received some deal of media attention. Within one month, third party investigators concluded that there was insufficient evidence to support this specific allegation. |
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⚫ | In 2006, |
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Some months after the Sujiatun incident, in July 2006, [[David Kilgour]], a former Canadian Secretary of State, and [[David Matas]], a human rights lawyer, conducted an investigation into the wider issue of organ harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners in China. Their report is mostly based on publicly verifiable information, and concludes that the practice is ongoing. |
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Allegations first appeared in the ''Epoch Times'' in March 2006. According to two individuals claiming they were witnesses, internal organs had been harvested at the Sujiatun Thrombosis Hospital, [[Sujiatun]], [[Liaoning]] province, and sold, the bodies incinerated in the hospital's boiler room. They alleged that no prisoner came out alive; six thousand practitioners had been held captive at the hospital since 2001, two-thirds of whom were killed. |
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Their findings have received mixed responses. The Chinese government categorically denies any mistreatment of Falun Gong practitioners, and rejects their report in its entirety. A [[Congressional Research Service]] said that the report’s key allegations appeared to be inconsistent with the findings of other investigations, <ref>CRS Report for Congress (August 11, 2006)[http://www.usembassy.it/pdf/other/RL33437.pdf "China and Falun Gong"], ''[[Congressional Research Service]]'', retrieved November 12, 2007</ref> while the Christian Science Monitor says the report’s evidence is circumstantial but persuasive.<ref>The Monitor's View (August 3, 2006)[http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0803/p08s02-comv.html "Organ harvesting and China's openness"], ''The [[Christian Science Monitor]]'', retrieved August 6, 2006</ref> The authors maintain that their conclusion has not been refuted. |
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Epoch Times also alleged live persons where exported overseas, where Chinese embassies abroad harvested organs and incinerated bodies. However this allegation was not translated into English.<ref>[http://zonaeuropa.com/20060509_2.htm 3. Why such a Big Discrepancy between Publicly Announced Figures and Reality?], Zonaeuropa, May 9, 2006</ref> |
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== The Sujiatun case == |
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The Chinese authorities immediately accused Falun Gong of fabricating the "Sujiatun concentration camp", citing lack of evidence and incapability of the hospital to perform the claimed acts. The [[United States Department of State]] investigated the site on two occasions, first unannounced, then later upon invitation, found no evidence to support the allegations but stated, "we remain concerned over China’s repression of Falun Gong practitioners."<ref name=state>[http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2006&m=April&x=20060416141157uhyggep0.5443231&t=dhr/hr-latest.html%20 U.S. Finds No Evidence of Alleged Concentration Camp in China], U.S. State Department, April 16, 2006</ref><ref>http://www.usembassy.it/pdf/other/RL33437.pdf Lum, Thomas CRS Report page CRS-7 detailing US embassy investigations</ref> Chinese dissident and Executive Director of the [[Laogai Research Foundation]], [[Harry Wu]], having sent his own investigators to the site, was unable to substantiate the claims, and believes the reports were fabricated.<ref name=challenge>[http://www.laogai.org/news/newsdetail.php?id=2642 Harry Wu challenges Falun Gong organ harvesting claims], South China Morning Post, September 8, 2006</ref> |
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Throughout March, ''The Epoch Times'' published articles by a number of apparent eyewitnesses, most of them anonymous, alleging organ harvesting in Sujiatun and beyond.<ref>[http://en.epochtimes.com/news/6-3-10/39111.html Worse Than Any Nightmare—Journalist Quits China to Expose Concentration Camp Horrors and Bird Flu Coverup], Epoch Times, March 10, 2006</ref> The case was referred to as the "[[Sujiatun]] [[concentration camp|Concentration Camp]]". One apparent eyewitness was said to have worked in the hospital and was aware of Falun Gong practitioners being kept alive in the basement, "After their organs were cut out, some of these people were thrown directly into the crematorium to be burnt," she alleged.<ref>Ji Da, [http://en.epochtimes.com/news/6-3-17/39405.html New Witness Confirms Existence of Chinese Concentration Camp, Says Organs Removed from Live Victims], Epoch Times, March 17, 2006</ref> Another anonymous source included a senior military doctor, who confirmed the claims, and said that Sujiatun was just one of up to 36 such sites across China. Practitioners were rapidly transferred between camps by closed freight train on special routes, "handcuffed like rotisserie chickens," he alleged.<ref name=sourcereveals>[http://en.epochtimes.com/news/6-3-31/39910.html Source Reveals Other Chinese Concentration Camps], Epoch Times, March 31, 2006</ref> |
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⚫ | ''[[The Washington Times]]'' also reported on the case. A journalist seeking political asylum in the United States, "Jin Zhong", also claimed knowledge of the harvesting operation, and added that hospital workers had taken jewelry and watches from the dead and sold them.<ref>Gertz, Bill (March 24, 2006) <!-- link no longer active[http://washingtontimes.com/national/20060323-114842-5680r.htm --> "China harvesting inmates' organs, journalist says", ''[[Washington Times]]'', retrieved July 6, 2006</ref> |
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Following the Sujiatun allegations, in July 2006, [[David Kilgour]], a former Canadian Secretary of State, and [[David Matas]], a human rights lawyer, conducted an independent investigation on the subject at the behest of the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of the Falun Gong in China (CIPFG), a U.S.-based, non-profit organization founded by the Falun Dafa Association<ref>Thomas Lum, [http://www.usembassy.it/pdf/other/RL33437.pdf Congressional Research Report #RL33437, page CRS-7 paragraph 3], Congressional Research Service, August 11 2006</ref>. Their report concludes that the allegations are founded, stating that Chinese authorities have, since 1999, "put to death a large but unknown number of Falun Gong prisoners of conscience. Their vital organs, including kidneys, livers, corneas and hearts, were seized involuntarily for sale at high prices, sometimes to foreigners." While some writers question the conclusion in the report<ref>Glen McGregor, [http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/observer/story.html?id=2c15d2f0-f0ab-4da9-991a-23e4094de949&p=3 "Inside China's 'crematorium'", page 3 of article], [[The Ottawa Citizen]], November 24, 2007</ref>, the authors maintain that the evidence is current, the practice ongoing, and that their report has not met with any substantive refutation.<ref name=matasleg>[http://freechina.org.au//?p=130 David Matas’s address to the Legislative Assembly, Canberra], accessed October 12, 2007</ref> The Christian Science Monitor states that the report's evidence is circumstantial, but persuasive.<ref>The Monitor's View (August 3, 2006)[http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0803/p08s02-comv.html "Organ harvesting and China's openness"], ''The [[Christian Science Monitor]]'', retrieved August 6, 2006</ref> A [[Congressional Research Service]] said that the K&M report’s key allegations appeared to be inconsistent with the findings of other investigations.<ref>CRS Report for Congress (August 11, 2006)[http://www.usembassy.it/pdf/other/RL33437.pdf "China and Falun Gong"], ''[[Congressional Research Service]]'', retrieved November 12, 2007</ref> The Chinese embassy in Canada pointed to very elementary errors of fact in the report, and further denounced it for being "biased and groundless", and "based on rumors and false allegations".<ref>[http://www.chinaembassycanada.org/eng/xwdt/t265055.htm "Chinese Embassy's Statement on the Issue of Falun Gong"], Chinese Embassy in Canada, 26 July 2006, accessed 2008-01-19</ref> |
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== First claims: Sujiatun == |
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On March 10 2006, the ''Epoch Times'' reported the allegations by a former investigative journalist, who said that six thousand practitioners in an underground compound in [[Shenyang|Shenyang]], [[Liaoning|Liaoning province]] - which he referred to as the "[[Sujiatun]] [[concentration camp|Concentration Camp]]" - were providing a readily available source of transplant organs, sold by doctors and then sent to medical facilities.<ref>[http://en.epochtimes.com/news/6-3-10/39111.html Worse Than Any Nightmare—Journalist Quits China to Expose Concentration Camp Horrors and Bird Flu Coverup], Epoch Times, March 10, 2006</ref> |
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⚫ | On Apr 19, 2006, [[Sky News]] went undercover with cameras inside Chinese hospitals where nurses and doctors confirmed 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. Sky News' Website says that "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."<ref>Sky News, [http://www.sky.com/skynews/video/videoplayer/0,,30200-waghorn_p10864,00.html Suspicions Raised Over Organ Donors], accessed 1/12/07</ref> |
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⚫ | On June 13, 2006, Edward McMillan-Scott, vice president of the [[European Parliament]], said he believed that nearly 400 hospitals in China shared the lucrative trade in transplant organs, with websites advertising new kidneys for $60,000.<ref name="yst06"> McMillan-Scott, Edward (June 13, 2006) [http://www.yorkshiretoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=97&ArticleID=1560709 "Secret atrocities of Chinese regime"], ''Yorkshire Post'', June 13, 2006, retrieved June 28, 2006</ref> |
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On March 17, the ''Epoch Times'' published accounts from a second anonymous source with similar allegations and further details about Sujiatun. She allegedly worked in the hospital, and also claimed that Falun Gong practitioners were kept in an underground detention centre. She claimed that many were still alive when their organs were taken, as organs from live bodies are more valuable than organs from cadavers. "After their organs were cut out, some of these people were thrown directly into the crematorium to be burnt."<ref>Ji Da, [http://en.epochtimes.com/news/6-3-17/39405.html New Witness Confirms Existence of Chinese Concentration Camp, Says Organs Removed from Live Victims], Epoch Times, March 17, 2006</ref> |
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⚫ | A Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman rejected the claims as a “lie... not worth refuting.” The Chinese government maintains that the hospital is incapable of housing more than 6,000 persons, there is no basement for incarcerating practitioners as alleged, and that there was simply no way to cremate corpses in secret, continuously, and in large volumes.<ref>[http://english.pravda.ru/news/world/28-03-2006/77946-0 "China negatives Falun Gong allegations of organ harvesting"] (March 28, 2006) ''[[Pravda]]'', retrieved July 8, 2006</ref> |
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[[Harry Wu]], known for his investigations of [[Laogai]], was also skeptical of the claims. He claims to have sent investigators to the Sujiatun scene, but did not find evidence for the alleged concentration camp.<ref>[http://www.zonaeuropa.com/20060806_1.htm Wu Hongda's Statement on the Sujiatun Concentration Camp: My Knowledge and Experience with the Falun Gong media reporting on the Sujiatun Concentration Camp problem], Zonaeuropa, July 18, 2006</ref> He said the story was merely [[hearsay]] from two witnesses: "No pictures, no witnesses, no paperwork, no detailed information at all, nothing."<ref>Frank Stirk, [http://www.canadianchristianity.com/cgi-bin/bc.cgi?bc/bccn/0606/07chinese Canadians probe Chinese organ harvesting claims], Canadian Christianity</ref> |
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On 30 March, a third anonymous informant identified as a senior military doctor in Shenyang military zone, confirmed that "routine organ harvesting" had been taking place at Sujiatun. He alleged that detainees were rapidly transferred to and from other camps by closed freight train on a special route, "handcuffed like rotisserie chickens". The informant also asserted that the hospital in Sujiatun is only one of 36 similar camps all over China.<ref name=sourcereveals>[http://en.epochtimes.com/news/6-3-31/39910.html Source Reveals Other Chinese Concentration Camps], Epoch Times, March 31, 2006</ref> |
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David Kilgour accounted for Wu's apparent lack of evidence by contending that by March 9 “the whistle was blown.”<ref name=defendsclaims> Tony Jones, [http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2006/s1715849.htm Canadian activist defends claims of killings in China], '''ABC''', August 15, 2006, retrieved 2006-08-18</ref> Kilgour and Matas later accused Wu of bad faith for drawing his conclusions without interviewing the witnesses, though Wu maintained that he was denied access to them.<ref name=bh /> |
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On Apr 19, 2006, [[Sky News]] went undercover with cameras inside Chinese hospitals where nurses and doctors confirmed 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. Sky News' Website states: |
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<blockquote> |
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⚫ | ''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<ref>Sky News, [http://www.sky.com/skynews/video/videoplayer/0,,30200-waghorn_p10864,00.html Suspicions Raised Over Organ Donors], accessed 1/12/07</ref> |
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</blockquote> |
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⚫ | The [[United States Department of State]] reported the findings of its investigation in April, stating that U.S. representatives "found no evidence to support allegations... that the site is being used for any function other than as a normal public hospital." US embassy said their staff visited the site twice, the first time unannounced, the second with official cooperation.<ref name=lum>Congressional Research Service report, http://www.usembassy.it/pdf/other/RL33437.pdf, page CRS-7, paragraph 3</ref> |
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⚫ | On June 13, 2006, Edward McMillan-Scott, vice president of the [[European Parliament]], said he believed that nearly 400 hospitals in China shared the lucrative trade in transplant organs, with websites advertising new kidneys for $60,000.<ref name="yst06"> McMillan-Scott, Edward (June 13, 2006) [http://www.yorkshiretoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=97&ArticleID=1560709 "Secret atrocities of Chinese regime"], ''Yorkshire Post'', June 13, 2006, retrieved June 28, 2006</ref> |
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Some news reports, including by ''The Epoch Times'', alleged that the State Department investigation took place three weeks after the initial allegations came to light, and that by then the Chinese government had cleaned up. |
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Some human rights activists, notably Harry Wu, are skeptical of the claims. Wu, known for his investigations of [[Laogai]] and for uncovering organ harvesting from executed prisoners, said that the allegations were just [[hearsay]] from two witnesses. "No pictures, no witnesses, no paperwork, no detailed information at all, nothing."<ref>Frank Stirk, [http://www.canadianchristianity.com/cgi-bin/bc.cgi?bc/bccn/0606/07chinese Canadians probe Chinese organ harvesting claims], Canadian Christianity</ref> Wu immediately sent investigators to the Sujiatun scene, but found no trace of the alleged concentration camp.<ref>[http://www.zonaeuropa.com/20060806_1.htm Wu Hongda's Statement on the Sujiatun Concentration Camp: My Knowledge and Experience with the Falun Gong media reporting on the Sujiatun Concentration Camp problem], Zonaeuropa, July 18, 2006</ref> David Kilgour would later contend that after March 9, the whistle was already blown.<ref name=defendsclaims> Tony Jones, [http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2006/s1715849.htm Canadian activist defends claims of killings in China], '''ABC''', August 15, 2006, retrieved 2006-08-18</ref>Some time later, Kilgour and Matas would accuse Wu of bad faith for drawing his conclusions without interviewing the witnesses,<ref name=bloody/> although Wu maintained that he was denied access to them for interview.<ref name=challenge/> |
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⚫ | The [[United States Department of State]] reported the findings of its investigation in April, stating that U.S. representatives "found no evidence to support allegations... that the site is being used for any function other than as a normal public hospital." |
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On July 20, 2006, [[David Kilgour]] and [[David Matas]] presented the findings of their two month investigation, conducted in response to a request by the [[Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong]]<ref>US Newswire(July 20, 2006) [http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=69292 "Independent Investigators to Present Findings From Investigation on China's Organ Harvesting From Prisoners of Conscience"], ''US Newswire'', retrieved July 26, 2006</ref>: |
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<blockquote> Based on our further research, we are reinforced in our original conclusion that the allegations are true. We believe that there has been and continues today to be large scale organ seizures from unwilling Falun Gong practitioners.</blockquote> |
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⚫ | A Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman rejected the claims |
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<blockquote>We have concluded that the government of China and its agencies in numerous parts of the country, in particular hospitals but also detention centres and 'people's courts', since 1999 have put to death a large but unknown number of Falun Gong prisoners of conscience. Their vital organs, including kidneys, livers, corneas and hearts, were seized involuntarily for sale at high prices, sometimes to foreigners, who normally face long waits for voluntary donations of such organs in their home countries. </blockquote> |
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On May 24, 2006, [[David Kilgour]], a former [[Canada|Canadian]] Cabinet minister, and David Matas, both human rights lawyers, initiated an investigation in response to a request by the CIPFG, a U.S.-based front organization of the Falun Dafa Association founded in April 2006.<ref name=lum>Thomas Lum, [http://www.usembassy.it/pdf/other/RL33437.pdf Congressional Research Report #RL33437], Congressional Research Service, August 11 2006</ref> On July 20, 2006, Kilgour and Matas released their findings at the National Press Club.<ref>US Newswire(July 20, 2006) [http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=69292 "Independent Investigators to Present Findings From Investigation on China's Organ Harvesting From Prisoners of Conscience"], ''US Newswire'', retrieved July 26, 2006</ref> They updated the report on 31 January, 2007 saying that the it presented "an even more compelling case".<ref>[http://OrganHarvestInvestigation.net/ "Bloody Harvest"], investigation report made by [[David Kilgour]] and [[David Matas]]</ref> |
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| style="text-align: left;" | '''Transcript of phone calls |
| style="text-align: left;" | '''Transcript of phone calls<ref name=bh />'''<br>'''''1. Call to Dr. Lu, Nanning City Minzu Hospital, Guangxi''''' |
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''' |
'''M''': "...Could you find organs from Falun Gong practitioners?"<br> |
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'''Hosp''': ''"Let me tell you, we have no way to get (them). It's rather difficult to get it now in Guangxi. If you cannot wait, I suggest you go to Guangzhou because it's very easy for them to get the organs. They are able to look for (them) nation wide. As they are performing the liver transplant, they can get the kidney for you at the same time, so it's very easy for them to do. Many places where supplies are short go to them for help..."''<br> |
'''Hosp''': ''"Let me tell you, we have no way to get (them). It's rather difficult to get it now in Guangxi. If you cannot wait, I suggest you go to Guangzhou because it's very easy for them to get the organs. They are able to look for (them) nation wide. As they are performing the liver transplant, they can get the kidney for you at the same time, so it's very easy for them to do. Many places where supplies are short go to them for help..."''<br> |
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''' |
'''M''': "Why is it easy for them to get?"<br> |
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'''Hosp''': '' "Because they are an important institution. They contact the (judicial) system in the name of the whole university."''<br> |
'''Hosp''': '' "Because they are an important institution. They contact the (judicial) system in the name of the whole university."''<br> |
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''' |
'''M''': "Then they use organs from Falun Gong practitioners?"<br> |
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'''Hosp''': '' "Correct..."''<br> |
'''Hosp''': '' "Correct..."''<br> |
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''' |
'''M''': "...what you used before (organs from Falun Gong practitioners), was it from detention centre(s) or prison(s)?"<br> |
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'''Hosp''': '' "From prisons."''<br> |
'''Hosp''': '' "From prisons."''<br> |
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''' |
'''M''': "...and it was from healthy Falun Gong practitioners...?"<br> |
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'''Hosp''': '' "Correct. We would choose the good ones because we assure the quality in our operation."''<br> |
'''Hosp''': '' "Correct. We would choose the good ones because we assure the quality in our operation."''<br> |
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''' |
'''M''': "That means you choose the organs yourself."<br> |
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'''Hosp''': ''"Correct..."''<br> |
'''Hosp''': ''"Correct..."''<br> |
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'''M''': "Usually, how old is the organ supplier?"<br> |
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'''Hosp''': ''"Usually in their thirties."''<br> |
'''Hosp''': ''"Usually in their thirties."''<br> |
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''' |
'''M''': "... Then you will go to the prison to select yourself?"<br> |
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'''Hosp''': '' "Correct. We must select it."''<br> |
'''Hosp''': '' "Correct. We must select it."''<br> |
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'''M''': "What if the chosen one doesn't want to have blood drawn?"<br> |
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'''Hosp''': ''"He will for sure let us do it."''<br> |
'''Hosp''': ''"He will for sure let us do it."''<br> |
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''' |
'''M''': "How?"<br> |
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'''Hosp''': ''"They will for sure find a way. What do you worry about? These kinds of things should not be of any concern to you. They have their procedures."''<br> |
'''Hosp''': ''"They will for sure find a way. What do you worry about? These kinds of things should not be of any concern to you. They have their procedures."''<br> |
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''' |
'''M''': "Does the person know that his organ will be removed?"<br> |
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'''Hosp''': '' "No, he doesn't." '' |
'''Hosp''': '' "No, he doesn't." '' |
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<br>-<br> |
<br>-<br> |
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'''''2. Call to Mr. Li at Mishan City Detention Centre, Heilongjiang:''''' |
'''''2. Call to Mr. Li at Mishan City Detention Centre, Heilongjiang:''''' |
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''' |
'''M''': "Do you have Falun Gong organ suppliers?"<br> |
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'''Hosp''': "''We used to have, yes.''"<br> |
'''Hosp''': "''We used to have, yes.''"<br> |
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''' |
'''M''': "What about now?"<br> |
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'''Hosp''': "''Yes.''"<br> |
'''Hosp''': "''Yes.''"<br> |
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...<br> |
...<br> |
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''' |
'''M''': "How many Falun Gong suppliers under the age of 40 do you have?<br> |
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'''Hosp''': "''Quite a few.''" <br> |
'''Hosp''': "''Quite a few.''" <br> |
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...<br> |
...<br> |
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''' |
'''M''': "Are they male or female?"<br> |
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'''Hosp''': ''"Male"''<br> |
'''Hosp''': ''"Male"''<br> |
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''' |
'''M''': "Now, for ... the male Falun Gong [prisoners], How many of them do you have?"<br> |
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'''Hosp''': ''"Seven, eight, we have [at least] five, six now."''<br> |
'''Hosp''': ''"Seven, eight, we have [at least] five, six now."''<br> |
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''' |
'''M''': "Are they from countryside or from the city?"<br> |
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'''Hosp''': ''"countryside."''<br> |
'''Hosp''': ''"countryside."''<br> |
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|} |
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⚫ | The report presents 33 strands of evidence which the authors say leads to the positive conclusion; singularly, the pieces of evidence do not prove the allegations, but their combination was the deciding factor. “Where every possible element of disproof we could identify fails to disprove the allegations, the likelihood of the allegations being true becomes substantial.”<ref name=bh /> |
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On July 6, 2006, after two months of interviewing people in Canada, the United States, Europe and Australia, the first report of 69 pages was released. Kilgour & Matas<ref name="MatasKilgourJuly06">Matas, David and Kilgour, David (July 6, 2006) [http://organharvestinvestigation.net/report20060706.htm "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</ref> said that they had found "credible evidence that the organs of Falun Gong adherents in China are being harvested for paid transplants".<ref>Clark, Campbell (July 6, 2006) [http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060706.FALUN06/TPStory/National "China harvesting organs, Canadians say"], ''[[Globe and Mail]]'', retrieved July 6, 2006</ref><ref>Canadian Press (July 6, 2006) [http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world/story.html?id=432dfdf7-9767-46b9-a210-65ff388d823f&k=17423 "Report claims China kills prisoners to harvest organs for transplant"], ''Canada.com'', retrieved July 6, 2006</ref><ref>AFP (July 6, 2006) [http://www.todayonline.com/articles/129145.asp "Report alleges China harvests body parts from live inmates"], ''Todayonline.com'', retrieved July 7, 2006</ref><ref>Kirstin Endemann and Darah Hansen, Canwest News Service; Vancouver Sun (July 6, 2006) [http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=113b19b5-9147-4190-a0e6-e831b307d08d&k=83776 "China kills Falun Gong members for organs, ex-MP says"], ''Canada.com'', retrieved July 6, 2006</ref><ref name="MercatorNetJuly06">Cook, Michael (July 12, 2006)[http://www.mercatornet.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=321 "Are Chinese doctors harvesting organs from Falun Gong prisoners?"], MercatorNet, retrieved July 17, 2006</ref> |
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They qualify that there are inherent difficulties in verifying the alleged crimes. For example, no independent bodies are allowed to investigate conditions in China, eyewitness evidence is difficult to obtain, and official information about organ transplantation is often withheld.<ref name=bh> [http://organharvestinvestigation.net/ BLOODY HARVEST] Revised Report into Allegations of Organ Harvesting of Falun Gong Practitioners in China, by David Matas, Esq. and Hon. David Kilgour, Esq. 31 January 2007</ref> On July 6, 2006, Matas told reporters that the Chinese government, which has repeatedly denied similar allegations,<ref>Canadian Press (July 7, 2006) [http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world/story.html?id=432dfdf7-9767-46b9-a210-65ff388d823f&k=17423 "Report claims China kills prisoners to harvest organs for transplant"], ''canada.com'', retrieved July 8, 2006</ref><ref name="ctvJuly06">CTV.ca News Staff (July 6, 2006) [http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060706/organ_report060706/20060706?hub=Canada "Chinese embassy denies organ harvesting report"], ''CTV.ca'', retrieved July 8, 2006</ref> refused entry visas to China for the pair to investigate further.<ref>AFP(July 6, 2006)[http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_1964180,00.html "China 'harvests live organs'"], ''News24.com'', retrieved July 7, 2006</ref> |
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The pair say that corruption is rife in China, which provides an incentive to break the law and make profit from selling organs, and that there is no self-governing body for transplant ethics. |
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The report gives background to human rights violations in China; the [[persecution of Falun Gong]], including the campaign to incite public hatred toward the group and the torture of practitioners in custody; financing arrangements of healthcare and army facilities in China, where both are self-reliant for funding, and hospitals are known to profit from selling organs of death-row prisoners. The authors allege that this policy might be easily transferred to Falun Gong practitioners. |
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⚫ | The report presents 33 strands of evidence which the authors say leads to the positive conclusion; singularly, the pieces of evidence do not prove the allegations, but their combination |
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===Details of organ transplanting=== |
===Details of organ transplanting=== |
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China has no organized donation system, as in western countries. There is also a cultural aversion to organ donation, such that even if there were a system in place, donations would be scarce. The authors say these factors severely limit the availability of voluntarily donated organs for transplant. |
China has no organized donation system, as in western countries. There is also a cultural aversion to organ donation, such that even if there were a system in place, donations would be scarce. The authors say these factors severely limit the availability of voluntarily donated organs for transplant. |
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Healthcare and army facilities in China are self-reliant for funding, and hospitals are known to profit from illegally selling organs of death-row prisoners. The authors allege that this policy might be easily transferred to Falun Gong practitioners: "The Falun Gong constitutes an additional prison population which the authorities vilify and dehumanize even more than executed prisoners sentenced to death for criminal offences."<ref name=kmcitizen /> |
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Of the 60,000 organ transplants the China Medical Organ Transplant Association recorded between 2000 and 2005, 18,500 organs came from identifiable sources. The source of 41,500 transplant organs could not thus be explained.<ref> [http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2006/07/06/china-falungong.html "China harvesting Falun Gong organs, report alleges"], ''CBC News'', retrieved July 6, 2006</ref> On July 6, 2006, Matas told reporters that China, which has repeatedly denied similar allegations,<ref>Canadian Press (July 7, 2006) [http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world/story.html?id=432dfdf7-9767-46b9-a210-65ff388d823f&k=17423 "Report claims China kills prisoners to harvest organs for transplant"], ''canada.com'', retrieved July 8, 2006</ref><ref name="ctvJuly06">CTV.ca News Staff (July 6, 2006) [http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060706/organ_report060706/20060706?hub=Canada "Chinese embassy denies organ harvesting report"], ''CTV.ca'', retrieved July 8, 2006</ref> refused entry to both to investigate the claims further.<ref>AFP(July 6, 2006)[http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_1964180,00.html "China 'harvests live organs'"], ''News24.com'', retrieved July 7, 2006</ref> |
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Of 60,000 organ transplants officially recorded between 2000 and 2005, 18,500 came from identifiable sources; the source of 41,500 transplant organs could not thus be explained.<ref> [http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2006/07/06/china-falungong.html "China harvesting Falun Gong organs, report alleges"], ''CBC News'', retrieved July 6, 2006</ref> In a later article published in 2007, Kilgour and Matas say that traditional sources of transplants such as executed prisoners, donors, and the brain dead "come nowhere near to explaining the total number of transplants across China." They said that "the only other identified source which can explain the skyrocketing transplant numbers is Falun Gong practitioners."<ref name=kmcitizen /> |
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The authors note the very short waiting times in Chinese hospitals for transplants. One hospital which boasts one week for a transplant, another claims to provide a liver in two weeks. In Canada, the waiting time for a kidney can be up to 32.5 months. With the survival period for a kidney being between 24-48 hours, and a liver about 12 hours, the authors contend that only a large bank of living 'donors' could account for the “astonishingly short” waiting times. |
The authors note the very short waiting times in Chinese hospitals for transplants. One hospital which boasts one week for a transplant, another claims to provide a liver in two weeks. In Canada, the waiting time for a kidney can be up to 32.5 months. With the survival period for a kidney being between 24-48 hours, and a liver about 12 hours, the authors contend that only a large bank of living 'donors' could account for the “astonishingly short” waiting times. |
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The authors refer to a number of interviews with organ recipients, who gave similar accounts. The organ transplant surgery is “conducted in almost total |
The authors refer to a number of interviews with organ recipients, who gave similar accounts. The organ transplant surgery is “conducted in almost total secrecy,”<ref name=bh /> the recipient is not told the identity of the donor or shown written consent, the identity of the doctor and nurses are often withheld, recipients and their families are often told the time of the operation immediately before it occurs, operations sometimes take place in the middle of the night, and “The whole procedure is done on a 'don't ask, don't tell' basis.”<ref name=bh /> |
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They recount the anecdote of an individual who received an organ from a military-run hospital. |
They recount the anecdote of an individual who received an organ from a military-run hospital. |
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===Chinese transplant websites=== |
===Chinese transplant websites=== |
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Kilgour and Matas |
Kilgour and Matas regard the information found on Chinese hospital websites “incriminating.” They refer to one site which claims that internal organs can be found 'immediately!'; the FAQ section on denies that organs come from “brain death (sic)” patients. Another shows various graphs with soaring organ transplantation figures—these start going up after 1999, when the persecution of Falun Gong began. |
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Organ transplanting is a highly profitable industry in China. The report provides a list of prices in US dollars found on Chinese transplant websites in April, 2006. These range from US$62,000 for a kidney, to US$130,000-160,000 for a heart. The authors write that they have no way of following the 'money trail', but that the lack of transparency is questionable. |
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They also state that China is a huge buyer of anti-rejection drugs for transplants, as with the use of these drugs it is not necessary to tissue-match. |
They also state that China is a huge buyer of anti-rejection drugs for transplants, as with the use of these drugs it is not necessary to tissue-match. |
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===Falun Gong specific considerations=== |
===Falun Gong specific considerations=== |
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Their report gives background to human rights violations in China, in particular the [[persecution of Falun Gong]], including the campaign to incite public hatred toward the group, and the widespread torture of practitioners in custody. |
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Kilgour and Matas state that one of the “most disturbing” moments in researching the report was the discovery of a massive population of imprisoned Falun gong practitioners who remained unidentified. When they are arrested for Falun Gong related activities, practitioners may refuse to give their names for fear of repercussions for their families. In these cases, no one outside the prison system knows their whereabouts. They state that there is a significant lack of representation among freed Falun Gong practitioners, from those who failed to self identify while they were imprisoned—these 'disappearances', the authors contend, are ready candidates for live organ harvesting.<ref name=bh /><!--Note: this is a bungled reference --> |
Kilgour and Matas state that one of the “most disturbing” moments in researching the report was the discovery of a massive population of imprisoned Falun gong practitioners who remained unidentified. When they are arrested for Falun Gong related activities, practitioners may refuse to give their names for fear of repercussions for their families. In these cases, no one outside the prison system knows their whereabouts. They state that there is a significant lack of representation among freed Falun Gong practitioners, from those who failed to self identify while they were imprisoned—these 'disappearances', the authors contend, are ready candidates for live organ harvesting.<ref name=bh /><!--Note: this is a bungled reference --> |
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The authors also point to evidence that Falun Gong practitioners are systematically blood and urine tested, and have their organs examined while in custody, while other prisoners, who are not practitioners, are not tested. "This differential testing occurs in labour camps, prisons and detention centres. We have heard such a large number of testimonials to this effect that this differential testing exists beyond a shadow of a doubt."<ref name=bh /> |
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Practitioners are not told the reason for being tested or examined; Kilgour and Matas write that it is not for health purposes, "For one, it is unnecessary to blood test and organ examine people systematically simply as a health precaution. For another, the health of the Falun Gong in detention is disregarded in so many other ways, it is implausible that the authorities would blood test and organ examine Falun Gong as a precautionary health measure."<ref name=bh /> |
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They also point out that blood testing is a pre‑requisite for organ transplants, and that donors need to be matched with recipients "so that the antibodies of the recipients do not reject the organs of the donors."<ref name=bh /> |
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This is also an avenue of proof/disproof, according to Kilgour and Matas, because "The mere fact of blood testing and organ examination does not establish that organ harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners is taking place. But the opposite is true. If there were no blood testing, the allegation would be disproved. The widespread blood testing of Falun Gong practitioners in detention cuts off this avenue of disproof."<ref name=bh /> |
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Practitioners regularly die in custody due to torture or ill-treatment, "In a few cases, between death and cremation," Kilgour and Matas say, "family members of Falun Gong practitioners were able to see the mutilated corpses of their loved ones. Organs had been removed."<ref name=kmcitizen /> |
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===Recommendations=== |
===Recommendations=== |
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Calgary Herald (July 5, 2006)[http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/theeditorialpage/story.html?id=c990936c-e208-4601-888f-810ff73bd994 "Rights concerns bedevil China--Doing trade with regime must be balanced with values"],''Canada.com'', retrieved July 8, 2006</ref><!-- put this somewhere else - this is rhetoric, and not a recommendation -- "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.<ref name="reutersJuly6">Reuters (July 6, 2006)[http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2006/07/06/team_says_china_harvests_falun_gong_organs/ "Team says China harvests Falun Gong organs"], ''boston.com'', retrieved July 8, 2006</ref> --> |
Calgary Herald (July 5, 2006)[http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/theeditorialpage/story.html?id=c990936c-e208-4601-888f-810ff73bd994 "Rights concerns bedevil China--Doing trade with regime must be balanced with values"],''Canada.com'', retrieved July 8, 2006</ref><!-- put this somewhere else - this is rhetoric, and not a recommendation -- "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.<ref name="reutersJuly6">Reuters (July 6, 2006)[http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2006/07/06/team_says_china_harvests_falun_gong_organs/ "Team says China harvests Falun Gong organs"], ''boston.com'', retrieved July 8, 2006</ref> --> |
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==Reception of the Kilgour-Matas report== |
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==Response and debate== |
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===Doubt=== |
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On January 31, 2007, following travels to approximately thirty national capitals to publicise their findings, Matas and Kilgour revised their report. They have added new allegations and recommendations for action in response to their findings, and have retitled it "''Bloody Harvest''"<ref name=bloody>{{cite web| title = New Evidence in Matas/Kilgour Revised Report on Organ Harvest of Falun Gong Practitioners in China | publisher = Kilgour, David; Matas, David | date= 2007-02-02 | url = http://OrganHarvestInvestigation.net/ | accessdate = 2007-06-10}}</ref> |
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An article by Glen McGregor in the ''[[Ottawa Citizen]]'' on November 24, 2007, raised a number of apparent inconsistencies or difficulties in the Sujiatun story, doubting that the hospital could have been the site of organ harvesting as alleged. He also questioned the conclusion of the Kilgour-Matas report, and focused on Harry Wu’s doubts. "Depending on who you believe, the Kilgour-Matas report is either compelling evidence that proves the claims about Falun Gong… or a collection of conjecture and inductive reasoning that fails to support its own conclusions,” he wrote. He said he was one of the few journalists who had not treated the report as fact, and said he was likened to a [[holocaust denier]] by Matas and Kilgour. He pointed out that [[Amnesty International]], [[Human Rights Watch]], and the UN’s Special Rapporteur on torture have not confirmed the claims of organ harvesting.<ref name=glen>Glen McGregor, [http://www.canada.com/components/print.aspx?id=2c15d2f0-f0ab-4da9-991a-23e4094de949 "Inside China's 'crematorium'"], [[The Ottawa Citizen]], November 24, 2007</ref> |
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McGregor admitted that he had been flown to China to inspect Sujiatun on a trip sponsored by the Chinese Medical Association (CMA); in his article he defended this by characterizing it as a non-government organization which has criticized Beijing’s policies. A letter by the Falun Dafa Association was later published in the Ottawa Citizen, saying that the CMA receives its funding from the communist regime, that more than half of its presidents have also been Chinese minister of deputy minister of health, and that the association had years earlier taken an active role in the persecution of Falun Gong, which made “any investigation arranged or sponsored by this organization immediately lose… its credibility.”<ref> The Ottawa Citizen, [Communist medical group implicated in organ harvest http://www.canada.com/components/print.aspx?id=8cbc8d14-fd67-4967-b320-872b00cb9e77], accessed 4/3/08</ref> |
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The Christian Science Monitor states that the report's evidence is circumstantial, but persuasive.<ref>The Monitor's View (August 3, 2006)[http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0803/p08s02-comv.html "Organ harvesting and China's openness"], ''The [[Christian Science Monitor]]'', retrieved August 6, 2006</ref> |
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Four days later, Matas and Kilgour published a response to McGregor in the same newspaper. The reporter, they wrote, maintained that the Chinese authorities should not be regarded as guilty based on circumstantial evidence, "no matter how overwhelming." They rhetorically suggested that only if McGregor saw "a smoking scalpel, a confessing surgeon or a surviving organ 'donor'" would he support the conclusion of their report. Their response emphasized the totality of the evidence they had collected, re-examined the avenues of proof and disproof available, and argued that two others independent reports had come to the same conclusion. "It is easy to take each element in isolation, and say that this element or that does not prove the claim. It is their combination which led us to the chilling conclusion to which we came," they said.<ref name=kmcitizen>David Matas and David Kilgour, [http://www.canada.com/components/print.aspx?id=7cd6b2fa-2f14-4b5d-a2cf-b4e452545c0c&k=75530 China harvests organs], November 28, 2007, accessed 5/3/08.</ref> |
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In July 2006, human rights lawyer Dr. Terri Marsh officially delivered a criminal complaint against several top doctors in China on to the Massachusetts Prosecutor's Office during the first World Transplant Congress which was being held in Boston.<ref name=monitor-suspicions>Lamb, Gregory M. (August 3, 2006) [http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0803/p16s01-lire.html "China faces suspicions about organ harvesting"], ''The Christian Science Monitor'', retrieved August 6, 2006</ref><!-- The defendants in the criminal complaint were 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,who -->Two were 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.<ref> [http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2006/7/26/75971.html "Falun Gong Group Files Criminal Complaint against Chinese Doctors for Committing the Crime of Torture by Harvesting Organs from Living People"], ''Clearwisdom'', July 26, 2006</ref> A third Chinese doctor, the director of Tianjin Oriental Organ Transplant Center, was sued for torture. The three were targeted because they were directors at hospitals which, it is alleged, admitted in recorded telephone conversation that the sources of the hospitals' organ transplants included Falun Gong practitioners.<ref>[http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2006/7/28/76042.html "Director Shen Zhongyang of the Tianjin Organ Transplantation Center Charged with Crime of Torture in the U.S."], ''Clearwisdom'', July 28, 2006</ref> |
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⚫ | A [[Congressional Research Service]] report by Dr Thomas Lum considered that the Kilgour-Matas report relied largely on making logical inferences, without bringing forth new or independently-obtained testimony. According to Lum, Kilgour and Matas' conclusions rely heavily upon transcripts of telephone calls with reported PRC respondents, and the credibility of the telephone recordings is questionable, due to the Chinese government's controls over sensitive information.<ref name=lum/> |
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On 30 March, the [[United Nations]] torture investigator [[Manfred Nowak]] promised to look into the Sujiatun case and officially submit well-founded allegation to the attention of the Chinese government. 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." [http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-03-30T155024Z_01_L30516921_RTRUKOC_0_UK-CHINA-UN-TORTURE.xml&archived] |
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===Questions=== |
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An article in the ''[[Ottawa Citizen]]'' on November 24, 2007 questioned the veracity of Falun Gong's allegations and credibility of the Kilgour/Matas report. It noted that the windows and a door of the alleged crematorium was located in the quadrangle at the centre of the main hospital building, in plain sight of any of the wards on the quadrangle. "It seemed unlikely that 2,000 cadavers could be brought to the building unseen, if not by the patients in the wards, then by residents of the seven-storey apartment building directly across the street, which had a direct sight line to the quadrangle." The author reported being likened by Matas and Kilgour to a [[holocaust denier]].<ref>Glen McGregor, [http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/observer/story.html?id=2c15d2f0-f0ab-4da9-991a-23e4094de949&p=3 "Inside China's 'crematorium'", page 3 of article], [[The Ottawa Citizen]], November 24, 2007</ref> |
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Kilgour and Matas maintain that they do not base their conclusion solely on the telephone calls. In an interview on ''[[Lateline]]'', Kilgour vouched for their veracity, stating that he could make the phone records and digital recordings available on request.<ref name=latelinekilgour>Lateline, [Canadian activist defends claims of killings in China http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2006/s1715849.htm], 15 August 2006, accessed 5/3/08</ref> He qualified that the caller contacted numerous hospitals across China, "and... many of the people were smart enough to say they shouldn't say this, but about 15 across the country people were either vain enough, or foolish enough or honest enough, to fess up to what was available..." "China is such a big country and the system is so massive, they weren't able to tell everybody, 'Don't say a word.'" he said, "...as recently as June... these calls were being put through and in some cases these extraordinary admissions were being made."<ref name=latelinekilgour /> |
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On September 29, 2006, the United States Congress held a hearing for organ harvesting of living Falun Gong practitioners,<ref> Kirk C. Allison, University of Minnesota (September 29, 2006)[http://wwwa.house.gov/international_relations/109/all092906.pdf Submitted Testimony on OPEN HEARING OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND INVESTIGATIONS--Falun Gong: Organ Harvesting and China's Ongoing War on Human Rights]</ref><ref>"WordPress.com",[http://chinaview.wordpress.com/2006/10/03/organ-harvesting-in-china-called-shocking-in-congressional-hearing/ Organ harvesting in China Called ‘Shocking’ in Congressional hearing]</ref><ref>Melinda Smith, VOA news, (03 October 2006)[http://www.voanews.com/english/2006-10-03-voa51.cfm Reports of Sale of Executed Falun Gong Prisoners' Organs in China Called 'Shocking']</ref> and issued a report, which stated that the Kilgour report "relied largely upon making logical inferences, without bringing forth new or independently-obtained testimony".<ref name=lum/> Amnesty International stated that claims of systematic organ harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners cannot be confirmed or denied.<ref name=lum/> |
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===Corroboration=== |
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⚫ | A |
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In 9 August, 2006, Harry Wu 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".<ref> Paul Mooney, [http://www.cicus.org/news/newsdetail.php?id=6556 Activist Harry Wu challenges organ harvesting claims], August 9, 2006</ref> "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. Matas asserted that the process of removing the eyes takes only 20 minutes, and added that one surgeon could remove the corneas from 2,000 bodies in just 83 days.<ref name=defendsclaims/> |
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⚫ | |||
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, purporting to corroborate the Kilgour-Matas report and calling for academia and medical circles stop cooperation with China on organ transplantation.<ref>[http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/6-8-7/44706.html "Mounting Evidence of Falun Gong Practitioners used as Organ Sources in China and Related Ethical Responsibilities"], ''The Epoch Times'', August 7, 2006</ref> |
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, purporting to corroborate the Kilgour-Matas report and calling for academia and medical circles stop cooperation with China on organ transplantation.<ref>[http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/6-8-7/44706.html "Mounting Evidence of Falun Gong Practitioners used as Organ Sources in China and Related Ethical Responsibilities"], ''The Epoch Times'', August 7, 2006</ref> |
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=== |
===Changing transplant policies=== |
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On June 3, 2007, in response to David Matas' presentation of his study to an organ transplant conference in Jerusalem, the Chinese embassy in [[Israel]] said: "There is no live organ bank in China and there is no intention to open one."<ref>Mathew Wagner, [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1180867542367&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull Chinese Embassy calls organ harvesting claims 'grotesque lies'], [[Jerusalem Post]], Jun 3, 2007</ref> Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv prohibited Jews from deriving any benefit from Chinese organ harvesting, "even in life-threatening situations". Other [[Rabbi]]s opposed to the use of Chinese organs for transplants include Menahem Porush, former Agudat Yisrael MK; Shlomo Aviner, head of the Ateret Yerushalayim Yeshiva; and Yuval Cherlow, one of the heads of the Petah Tikva Hesder Yeshiva and rabbis of the [[Sanhedrin]], a revival of the ancient Jewish governing body.<ref>Mathew Wagner, [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?apage=1&cid=1180867542307&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull Chinese TV airs Elyashiv's opposition to organ harvesting], [[Jerusalem Post]], Jun 3, 2007</ref> |
On June 3, 2007, in response to David Matas' presentation of his study to an organ transplant conference in Jerusalem, the Chinese embassy in [[Israel]] said: "There is no live organ bank in China and there is no intention to open one."<ref>Mathew Wagner, [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1180867542367&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull Chinese Embassy calls organ harvesting claims 'grotesque lies'], [[Jerusalem Post]], Jun 3, 2007</ref> Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv prohibited Jews from deriving any benefit from Chinese organ harvesting, "even in life-threatening situations". Other [[Rabbi]]s opposed to the use of Chinese organs for transplants include Menahem Porush, former Agudat Yisrael MK; Shlomo Aviner, head of the Ateret Yerushalayim Yeshiva; and Yuval Cherlow, one of the heads of the Petah Tikva Hesder Yeshiva and rabbis of the [[Sanhedrin]], a revival of the ancient Jewish governing body.<ref>Mathew Wagner, [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?apage=1&cid=1180867542307&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull Chinese TV airs Elyashiv's opposition to organ harvesting], [[Jerusalem Post]], Jun 3, 2007</ref> |
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===Chinese government response=== |
===Chinese government response=== |
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The Chinese Embassy in Canada replied to the Kilgour-Matas report immediately upon its release on July 6, stating that China abided by [[World Health Organization]] principles that prohibit the sale of human organs without written consent from donors. The authors were accused of wanting to smear China's image. "[T]he so-called 'independent investigation report' made by a few Canadians based on rumors and false allegations is groundless and biased." The Chinese Embassy in Washington also said the allegations were "totally fake" and said the Chinese government had already investigated the claims and found them meritless. |
The Chinese Embassy in Canada replied to the Kilgour-Matas report immediately upon its release on July 6, stating that China abided by [[World Health Organization]] principles that prohibit the sale of human organs without written consent from donors. The authors were accused of wanting to smear China's image. "[T]he so-called 'independent investigation report' made by a few Canadians based on rumors and false allegations is groundless and biased." The Chinese Embassy in Washington also said the allegations were "totally fake" and said the Chinese government had already investigated the claims and found them meritless. |
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David Matas says that he and Kilgour find it hard to take take the Chinese government's line seriously, "China will deny all abuses of human rights in the most frivolous manner imaginable," he said at a public forum in [[Brisbane]]. "David Kilgour and I have been around the world talking about our report, and have engaged with the government of China on human rights abuses. And the types of response we get are silly in the extreme," Matas said. According to Matas, the Chinese government claimed the report is "filled with rumors," though "every single piece of evidence in the report is independently verifiable." He said that the Chinese government "very often... manufacture[s] quotes. They say we said something, put it in quotation marks, and then disagree with this manufactured quote... our report is on the website, and you can word check it and see that these manufactured quotes are not real. So it’s hard for us to take these kinds of opposition seriously... What they’re engaged in is propaganda and disinformation, rather than real debate." |
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== References == |
== References == |
Revision as of 15:40, 4 March 2008
In March 2006, The Epoch Times published a number of articles alleging that the Chinese government and its agencies, including the People's Liberation Army, were conducting widespread and systematic organ harvesting of living Falun Gong practitioners. It was alleged that practitioners detained in forced labour camps, hospital basements, or prisons, were being blood and urine tested, their information stored on computer databases, and then matched with organ recipients. When an organ was required, it alleged, they were injected with potassium to stop the heart, their organs removed and later sold, and their bodies incinerated.
The first series of allegations were based on apparent eye-witness testimony of two individuals, and directed specifically at the Sujiatun Thrombosis Hospital in Shenyang, Liaoning province. The story received some deal of media attention. Within one month, third party investigators concluded that there was insufficient evidence to support this specific allegation.
Some months after the Sujiatun incident, in July 2006, David Kilgour, a former Canadian Secretary of State, and David Matas, a human rights lawyer, conducted an investigation into the wider issue of organ harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners in China. Their report is mostly based on publicly verifiable information, and concludes that the practice is ongoing.
Their findings have received mixed responses. The Chinese government categorically denies any mistreatment of Falun Gong practitioners, and rejects their report in its entirety. A Congressional Research Service said that the report’s key allegations appeared to be inconsistent with the findings of other investigations, [1] while the Christian Science Monitor says the report’s evidence is circumstantial but persuasive.[2] The authors maintain that their conclusion has not been refuted.
The Sujiatun case
Throughout March, The Epoch Times published articles by a number of apparent eyewitnesses, most of them anonymous, alleging organ harvesting in Sujiatun and beyond.[3] The case was referred to as the "Sujiatun Concentration Camp". One apparent eyewitness was said to have worked in the hospital and was aware of Falun Gong practitioners being kept alive in the basement, "After their organs were cut out, some of these people were thrown directly into the crematorium to be burnt," she alleged.[4] Another anonymous source included a senior military doctor, who confirmed the claims, and said that Sujiatun was just one of up to 36 such sites across China. Practitioners were rapidly transferred between camps by closed freight train on special routes, "handcuffed like rotisserie chickens," he alleged.[5]
The Washington Times also reported on the case. A journalist seeking political asylum in the United States, "Jin Zhong", also claimed knowledge of the harvesting operation, and added that hospital workers had taken jewelry and watches from the dead and sold them.[6]
International response
On Apr 19, 2006, Sky News went undercover with cameras inside Chinese hospitals where nurses and doctors confirmed 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. Sky News' Website says that "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."[7]
On June 13, 2006, Edward McMillan-Scott, vice president of the European Parliament, said he believed that nearly 400 hospitals in China shared the lucrative trade in transplant organs, with websites advertising new kidneys for $60,000.[8]
Doubts
A Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman rejected the claims as a “lie... not worth refuting.” The Chinese government maintains that the hospital is incapable of housing more than 6,000 persons, there is no basement for incarcerating practitioners as alleged, and that there was simply no way to cremate corpses in secret, continuously, and in large volumes.[9]
Harry Wu, known for his investigations of Laogai, was also skeptical of the claims. He claims to have sent investigators to the Sujiatun scene, but did not find evidence for the alleged concentration camp.[10] He said the story was merely hearsay from two witnesses: "No pictures, no witnesses, no paperwork, no detailed information at all, nothing."[11]
David Kilgour accounted for Wu's apparent lack of evidence by contending that by March 9 “the whistle was blown.”[12] Kilgour and Matas later accused Wu of bad faith for drawing his conclusions without interviewing the witnesses, though Wu maintained that he was denied access to them.[13]
The United States Department of State reported the findings of its investigation in April, stating that U.S. representatives "found no evidence to support allegations... that the site is being used for any function other than as a normal public hospital." US embassy said their staff visited the site twice, the first time unannounced, the second with official cooperation.[14]
Some news reports, including by The Epoch Times, alleged that the State Department investigation took place three weeks after the initial allegations came to light, and that by then the Chinese government had cleaned up.
Kilgor-Matas report
On July 20, 2006, David Kilgour and David Matas presented the findings of their two month investigation, conducted in response to a request by the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong[15]:
Based on our further research, we are reinforced in our original conclusion that the allegations are true. We believe that there has been and continues today to be large scale organ seizures from unwilling Falun Gong practitioners.
We have concluded that the government of China and its agencies in numerous parts of the country, in particular hospitals but also detention centres and 'people's courts', since 1999 have put to death a large but unknown number of Falun Gong prisoners of conscience. Their vital organs, including kidneys, livers, corneas and hearts, were seized involuntarily for sale at high prices, sometimes to foreigners, who normally face long waits for voluntary donations of such organs in their home countries.
Transcript of phone calls[13] 1. Call to Dr. Lu, Nanning City Minzu Hospital, Guangxi M: "...Could you find organs from Falun Gong practitioners?" M: "Do you have Falun Gong organ suppliers?" |
The report presents 33 strands of evidence which the authors say leads to the positive conclusion; singularly, the pieces of evidence do not prove the allegations, but their combination was the deciding factor. “Where every possible element of disproof we could identify fails to disprove the allegations, the likelihood of the allegations being true becomes substantial.”[13]
They qualify that there are inherent difficulties in verifying the alleged crimes. For example, no independent bodies are allowed to investigate conditions in China, eyewitness evidence is difficult to obtain, and official information about organ transplantation is often withheld.[13] On July 6, 2006, Matas told reporters that the Chinese government, which has repeatedly denied similar allegations,[16][17] refused entry visas to China for the pair to investigate further.[18]
The pair say that corruption is rife in China, which provides an incentive to break the law and make profit from selling organs, and that there is no self-governing body for transplant ethics.
Details of organ transplanting
China has no organized donation system, as in western countries. There is also a cultural aversion to organ donation, such that even if there were a system in place, donations would be scarce. The authors say these factors severely limit the availability of voluntarily donated organs for transplant.
Healthcare and army facilities in China are self-reliant for funding, and hospitals are known to profit from illegally selling organs of death-row prisoners. The authors allege that this policy might be easily transferred to Falun Gong practitioners: "The Falun Gong constitutes an additional prison population which the authorities vilify and dehumanize even more than executed prisoners sentenced to death for criminal offences."[19]
Of 60,000 organ transplants officially recorded between 2000 and 2005, 18,500 came from identifiable sources; the source of 41,500 transplant organs could not thus be explained.[20] In a later article published in 2007, Kilgour and Matas say that traditional sources of transplants such as executed prisoners, donors, and the brain dead "come nowhere near to explaining the total number of transplants across China." They said that "the only other identified source which can explain the skyrocketing transplant numbers is Falun Gong practitioners."[19]
The authors note the very short waiting times in Chinese hospitals for transplants. One hospital which boasts one week for a transplant, another claims to provide a liver in two weeks. In Canada, the waiting time for a kidney can be up to 32.5 months. With the survival period for a kidney being between 24-48 hours, and a liver about 12 hours, the authors contend that only a large bank of living 'donors' could account for the “astonishingly short” waiting times.
The authors refer to a number of interviews with organ recipients, who gave similar accounts. The organ transplant surgery is “conducted in almost total secrecy,”[13] the recipient is not told the identity of the donor or shown written consent, the identity of the doctor and nurses are often withheld, recipients and their families are often told the time of the operation immediately before it occurs, operations sometimes take place in the middle of the night, and “The whole procedure is done on a 'don't ask, don't tell' basis.”[13]
They recount the anecdote of an individual who received an organ from a military-run hospital.
He was admitted to the No 1 Peoples' Hospital‑a civilian facility‑and during the ensuing two weeks four kidneys were brought for testing against his blood and other factors. None proved compatible because of his anti‑bodies; all were taken away.” He returned to the hospital two months later. “Another four kidneys were similarly tested; when the eighth proved compatible, the transplant operation was successfully completed... His surgeon... Dr. Tan Jianming of the Nanjing military region... carried sheets of paper containing lists of prospective 'donors', based on various tissue and blood characteristics, from which he would select names.The doctor was observed at various times to leave the hospital in uniform and return 2‑3 hours later with containers bearing kidneys. Dr. Tan told the recipient that the eighth kidney came from an executed prisoner. The military have access to prisons and prisoners. Their operations are even more secretive than those of the civilian government. They are impervious to the rule of law.
Chinese transplant websites
Kilgour and Matas regard the information found on Chinese hospital websites “incriminating.” They refer to one site which claims that internal organs can be found 'immediately!'; the FAQ section on denies that organs come from “brain death (sic)” patients. Another shows various graphs with soaring organ transplantation figures—these start going up after 1999, when the persecution of Falun Gong began.
Organ transplanting is a highly profitable industry in China. The report provides a list of prices in US dollars found on Chinese transplant websites in April, 2006. These range from US$62,000 for a kidney, to US$130,000-160,000 for a heart. The authors write that they have no way of following the 'money trail', but that the lack of transparency is questionable.
They also state that China is a huge buyer of anti-rejection drugs for transplants, as with the use of these drugs it is not necessary to tissue-match.
Falun Gong specific considerations
Their report gives background to human rights violations in China, in particular the persecution of Falun Gong, including the campaign to incite public hatred toward the group, and the widespread torture of practitioners in custody.
Kilgour and Matas state that one of the “most disturbing” moments in researching the report was the discovery of a massive population of imprisoned Falun gong practitioners who remained unidentified. When they are arrested for Falun Gong related activities, practitioners may refuse to give their names for fear of repercussions for their families. In these cases, no one outside the prison system knows their whereabouts. They state that there is a significant lack of representation among freed Falun Gong practitioners, from those who failed to self identify while they were imprisoned—these 'disappearances', the authors contend, are ready candidates for live organ harvesting.[13]
The authors also point to evidence that Falun Gong practitioners are systematically blood and urine tested, and have their organs examined while in custody, while other prisoners, who are not practitioners, are not tested. "This differential testing occurs in labour camps, prisons and detention centres. We have heard such a large number of testimonials to this effect that this differential testing exists beyond a shadow of a doubt."[13]
Practitioners are not told the reason for being tested or examined; Kilgour and Matas write that it is not for health purposes, "For one, it is unnecessary to blood test and organ examine people systematically simply as a health precaution. For another, the health of the Falun Gong in detention is disregarded in so many other ways, it is implausible that the authorities would blood test and organ examine Falun Gong as a precautionary health measure."[13]
They also point out that blood testing is a pre‑requisite for organ transplants, and that donors need to be matched with recipients "so that the antibodies of the recipients do not reject the organs of the donors."[13]
This is also an avenue of proof/disproof, according to Kilgour and Matas, because "The mere fact of blood testing and organ examination does not establish that organ harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners is taking place. But the opposite is true. If there were no blood testing, the allegation would be disproved. The widespread blood testing of Falun Gong practitioners in detention cuts off this avenue of disproof."[13]
Practitioners regularly die in custody due to torture or ill-treatment, "In a few cases, between death and cremation," Kilgour and Matas say, "family members of Falun Gong practitioners were able to see the mutilated corpses of their loved ones. Organs had been removed."[19]
Recommendations
The report supports the allegations of China's harvesting organs from live Falun Gong practitioners and calls for a ban on Canadian citizens travelling to China for transplant operations.[21][22][23]
Reception of the Kilgour-Matas report
Doubt
An article by Glen McGregor in the Ottawa Citizen on November 24, 2007, raised a number of apparent inconsistencies or difficulties in the Sujiatun story, doubting that the hospital could have been the site of organ harvesting as alleged. He also questioned the conclusion of the Kilgour-Matas report, and focused on Harry Wu’s doubts. "Depending on who you believe, the Kilgour-Matas report is either compelling evidence that proves the claims about Falun Gong… or a collection of conjecture and inductive reasoning that fails to support its own conclusions,” he wrote. He said he was one of the few journalists who had not treated the report as fact, and said he was likened to a holocaust denier by Matas and Kilgour. He pointed out that Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the UN’s Special Rapporteur on torture have not confirmed the claims of organ harvesting.[24]
McGregor admitted that he had been flown to China to inspect Sujiatun on a trip sponsored by the Chinese Medical Association (CMA); in his article he defended this by characterizing it as a non-government organization which has criticized Beijing’s policies. A letter by the Falun Dafa Association was later published in the Ottawa Citizen, saying that the CMA receives its funding from the communist regime, that more than half of its presidents have also been Chinese minister of deputy minister of health, and that the association had years earlier taken an active role in the persecution of Falun Gong, which made “any investigation arranged or sponsored by this organization immediately lose… its credibility.”[25]
Four days later, Matas and Kilgour published a response to McGregor in the same newspaper. The reporter, they wrote, maintained that the Chinese authorities should not be regarded as guilty based on circumstantial evidence, "no matter how overwhelming." They rhetorically suggested that only if McGregor saw "a smoking scalpel, a confessing surgeon or a surviving organ 'donor'" would he support the conclusion of their report. Their response emphasized the totality of the evidence they had collected, re-examined the avenues of proof and disproof available, and argued that two others independent reports had come to the same conclusion. "It is easy to take each element in isolation, and say that this element or that does not prove the claim. It is their combination which led us to the chilling conclusion to which we came," they said.[19]
A Congressional Research Service report by Dr Thomas Lum considered that the Kilgour-Matas report relied largely on making logical inferences, without bringing forth new or independently-obtained testimony. According to Lum, Kilgour and Matas' conclusions rely heavily upon transcripts of telephone calls with reported PRC respondents, and the credibility of the telephone recordings is questionable, due to the Chinese government's controls over sensitive information.[14]
Kilgour and Matas maintain that they do not base their conclusion solely on the telephone calls. In an interview on Lateline, Kilgour vouched for their veracity, stating that he could make the phone records and digital recordings available on request.[26] He qualified that the caller contacted numerous hospitals across China, "and... many of the people were smart enough to say they shouldn't say this, but about 15 across the country people were either vain enough, or foolish enough or honest enough, to fess up to what was available..." "China is such a big country and the system is so massive, they weren't able to tell everybody, 'Don't say a word.'" he said, "...as recently as June... these calls were being put through and in some cases these extraordinary admissions were being made."[26]
Corroboration
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, purporting to corroborate the Kilgour-Matas report and calling for academia and medical circles stop cooperation with China on organ transplantation.[27]
Changing transplant policies
On June 3, 2007, in response to David Matas' presentation of his study to an organ transplant conference in Jerusalem, the Chinese embassy in Israel said: "There is no live organ bank in China and there is no intention to open one."[28] Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv prohibited Jews from deriving any benefit from Chinese organ harvesting, "even in life-threatening situations". Other Rabbis opposed to the use of Chinese organs for transplants include Menahem Porush, former Agudat Yisrael MK; Shlomo Aviner, head of the Ateret Yerushalayim Yeshiva; and Yuval Cherlow, one of the heads of the Petah Tikva Hesder Yeshiva and rabbis of the Sanhedrin, a revival of the ancient Jewish governing body.[29]
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.[30]
Chinese government response
The Chinese Embassy in Canada replied to the Kilgour-Matas report immediately upon its release on July 6, stating that China abided by World Health Organization principles that prohibit the sale of human organs without written consent from donors. The authors were accused of wanting to smear China's image. "[T]he so-called 'independent investigation report' made by a few Canadians based on rumors and false allegations is groundless and biased." The Chinese Embassy in Washington also said the allegations were "totally fake" and said the Chinese government had already investigated the claims and found them meritless.
David Matas says that he and Kilgour find it hard to take take the Chinese government's line seriously, "China will deny all abuses of human rights in the most frivolous manner imaginable," he said at a public forum in Brisbane. "David Kilgour and I have been around the world talking about our report, and have engaged with the government of China on human rights abuses. And the types of response we get are silly in the extreme," Matas said. According to Matas, the Chinese government claimed the report is "filled with rumors," though "every single piece of evidence in the report is independently verifiable." He said that the Chinese government "very often... manufacture[s] quotes. They say we said something, put it in quotation marks, and then disagree with this manufactured quote... our report is on the website, and you can word check it and see that these manufactured quotes are not real. So it’s hard for us to take these kinds of opposition seriously... What they’re engaged in is propaganda and disinformation, rather than real debate."
References
- ^ CRS Report for Congress (August 11, 2006)"China and Falun Gong", Congressional Research Service, retrieved November 12, 2007
- ^ The Monitor's View (August 3, 2006)"Organ harvesting and China's openness", The Christian Science Monitor, retrieved August 6, 2006
- ^ Worse Than Any Nightmare—Journalist Quits China to Expose Concentration Camp Horrors and Bird Flu Coverup, Epoch Times, March 10, 2006
- ^ Ji Da, New Witness Confirms Existence of Chinese Concentration Camp, Says Organs Removed from Live Victims, Epoch Times, March 17, 2006
- ^ Source Reveals Other Chinese Concentration Camps, Epoch Times, March 31, 2006
- ^ Gertz, Bill (March 24, 2006) "China harvesting inmates' organs, journalist says", Washington Times, retrieved July 6, 2006
- ^ Sky News, Suspicions Raised Over Organ Donors, accessed 1/12/07
- ^ McMillan-Scott, Edward (June 13, 2006) "Secret atrocities of Chinese regime", Yorkshire Post, June 13, 2006, retrieved June 28, 2006
- ^ "China negatives Falun Gong allegations of organ harvesting" (March 28, 2006) Pravda, retrieved July 8, 2006
- ^ Wu Hongda's Statement on the Sujiatun Concentration Camp: My Knowledge and Experience with the Falun Gong media reporting on the Sujiatun Concentration Camp problem, Zonaeuropa, July 18, 2006
- ^ Frank Stirk, Canadians probe Chinese organ harvesting claims, Canadian Christianity
- ^ Tony Jones, Canadian activist defends claims of killings in China, ABC, August 15, 2006, retrieved 2006-08-18
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k BLOODY HARVEST Revised Report into Allegations of Organ Harvesting of Falun Gong Practitioners in China, by David Matas, Esq. and Hon. David Kilgour, Esq. 31 January 2007
- ^ a b Congressional Research Service report, http://www.usembassy.it/pdf/other/RL33437.pdf, page CRS-7, paragraph 3
- ^ 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
- ^ Canadian Press (July 7, 2006) "Report claims China kills prisoners to harvest organs for transplant", canada.com, retrieved July 8, 2006
- ^ CTV.ca News Staff (July 6, 2006) "Chinese embassy denies organ harvesting report", CTV.ca, retrieved July 8, 2006
- ^ AFP(July 6, 2006)"China 'harvests live organs'", News24.com, retrieved July 7, 2006
- ^ a b c d David Matas and David Kilgour, China harvests organs, November 28, 2007, accessed 5/3/08.
- ^ "China harvesting Falun Gong organs, report alleges", CBC News, retrieved July 6, 2006
- ^ 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
- ^ Reuters, AP (July 8, 2006)"Falun Gong organ claim supported",The Age, retrieved July 7, 2006
- ^ Calgary Herald (July 5, 2006)"Rights concerns bedevil China--Doing trade with regime must be balanced with values",Canada.com, retrieved July 8, 2006
- ^ Glen McGregor, "Inside China's 'crematorium'", The Ottawa Citizen, November 24, 2007
- ^ The Ottawa Citizen, [Communist medical group implicated in organ harvest http://www.canada.com/components/print.aspx?id=8cbc8d14-fd67-4967-b320-872b00cb9e77], accessed 4/3/08
- ^ a b Lateline, [Canadian activist defends claims of killings in China http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2006/s1715849.htm], 15 August 2006, accessed 5/3/08
- ^ "Mounting Evidence of Falun Gong Practitioners used as Organ Sources in China and Related Ethical Responsibilities", The Epoch Times, August 7, 2006
- ^ Mathew Wagner, Chinese Embassy calls organ harvesting claims 'grotesque lies', Jerusalem Post, Jun 3, 2007
- ^ Mathew Wagner, Chinese TV airs Elyashiv's opposition to organ harvesting, Jerusalem Post, Jun 3, 2007
- ^ National Kidney Foundation Statement about Alleged Human Rights Violations in Organ Donation National Kidney Foundation, August 14, 2006, retrieved 2006-08-18