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Newsletter - March 2007, issue 65 PDF Print E-mail
New Evidence in Matas/Kilgour Revised Report on Organ Harvest of Falun Gong Practitioners in China

Ottawa - Canadian human rights lawyer David Matas and former Canadian MP David Kilgour called on all states to ban transplant tourism to China.

The call was made in the context of a revised version of a report which addresses the allegation whether organs are harvested from Falun Gong practitioners who were killed in the process.

The initial report was released July 6, 2006. The reports conclude that it is true. The revised report almost doubles the amount of evidence that the practice is continuing.

 

New evidence in the revised report reinforcing the original conclusions includes:

  • the donor recipient experience that transplant operations are done in a secretive way suggesting cover up of a crime;
  • heavy military involvement in the organ transplant business;
  • additional admissions from the hospitals that they have Falun Gong organs for transplant. The admissions were made to telephone investigators posing as relatives of patients in need of transplants ;
  •  additional testimony from Falun Gong victim witnesses about both systematic blood testing of only Falun Gong practitioners in Chinese detention and the disappearance of the massive numbers of Falun Gong practitioners in detention who refused to self identity to the authorities;
  • death through torture of over three thousand named Falun Gong practitioners;
  • the building of dedicated facilities for organ transplants without any identifiable source for transplants other than prisoners;
  •  corroborating studies from other independent researchers coming to the same conclusion as the Matas/Kilgour report.
  • the failure to implement the law in force July 1, 2006 prohibiting the harvesting of organs without consent;
  • the failure of foreign laws and ethics to provide an effective barrier to transplant tourism to China;
  • the absence of effective foreign warning transplant sources in China through travel advisories and other information programs;
  • the absence of any meaningful answer or contradiction from the Government of China to the first version of the report;
  • the absence of an organ donation system in China;

The report recommendations include:

  • extra-territorial legislation preventing patients from going abroad for transplants where neither the donor nor his family consent;
  • end of funding for after care for patients who benefit from commercial organ transplants abroad; • ceasing contact with Chinese transplant professionals;
  • warning through government travel advisories and public information campaigns that the source of organ transplants in China with few exceptions is prisoners.

 "Our investigations have found Canadians going to China for transplants from Calgary, Vancouver and Toronto. The numbers are increasing”, said Kilgour.

“The market for organs in China is determined by supply and demand. The supply is local, but the demand is, in large part, foreign. We must do everything we can to end this demand”, said Matas.

For further information, contact David Kilgour at 613-747-7854, David Matas at 204-944-1831 The revised report can be obtained at: http://www.organharvestinvestigation.net/  

"Bloody Harvest" Report Presented in London

image005David Kilgour, former Canadian Secretary of State and co-author of a report detailing organ harvesting in China visits England this week.

He presented his updated report to the UK Parliament and London Foreign Press Association. Here is more from our London correspondent.

Invited by Lord Thurlow, Mr. Kilgour came to London on 26th March for a two day visit. He introduced his newly updated report to the British parliamentarians on 26th in the House of Parliament and held a press conference at the London Foreign Press Association the next day. The updated version of the "Bloody Harvest" report has added 12 new aspects of the evidence regarding the organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners in China.

"They have never provided a substantive answer to anything in our earlier report and revised report, except, I must be careful about this, they have pointed out that we got two cities in the wrong provinces. We can see we made that error, but in terms of substance, they were not able to find a single solitary error in our report."

Lord Avebury, vice Chairman of the Parliament Human Rights Group, organized the seminar in Parliament on the 26th of March.

"The very fact that they (CCP) do harvest organs from some people indicates that the practice occurs and the only argument we have is the extent of it, whether it covers the whole of the disappeared Falun Gong practitioners there is no question about that either, that a very large number of people have been arrested and they are not being released and one has to account in some way for the fact that these people no longer exist, where have they gone to?"

A New China without the CCP is coming soon

2007-3-31-ottawatd-02Ms. Zhang Jiyan, wife of a former Chinese Embassy staff, said: "A new China without the CCP is coming soon."

Ms. Feng Yang, a Falun Gong practitioner escaped from Beijing not long ago, who now resides in London delivered her live story at both events.

Ms Zhang Jiyan, 48, is the wife of a former financial staff of the Chinese Embassy in Ottawa and is a Falun Gong practitioner. She was talking with others at the Embassy in private about the truth of Falun Gong. Embassy officials noticed this and started to monitor her. The embassy also wanted to confiscate her passport. Under mounting pressure, she decided to leave the Embassy on March 5 to avoid being sent back to China where Falun Gong practitioners are being brutally persecuted.

In her statement, Ms. Zhang said: "At this event supporting 20 million Chinese people who have quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations, I witness more and more people have awakened and chosen to denounce the evil party. In addition, I feel so happy because I am now a member of them and I can speak my heart-felt words publicly.

In China, more than half of the people have been persecuted during all kinds of political campaigns in the past 50 years. Since the CCP came into power, 80 million Chinese people have been killed during such campaigns and the traditional Chinese culture has been replaced by the Communist culture which has poisoned all Chinese people."

Ms. Zhang confirmed that the CCP uses embassies and consulates as bases to attack Falun Gong. She said that the Chinese Embassy in Ottawa has a special division which is specialized in collecting information of Falun Gong practitioners and dissidents.

According to Mr. Zhang, the Ambassador told them at an all-staff meeting that he had given slanderous materials against Falun Gong to the former Governor General, many MPs and government officials. Embassy staff keep tight control over Chinese communities in order to influence mainstream society.

"For example," Zhang said, "When NTDTV was applying to open a branch office in Canada in 2005, the embassy manipulated Chinese groups and Chinese international students to write letters to related agencies trying to block NTDTV. In fact, these groups were just echoing the voice of the Embassy. In addition, the embassy also spent large resources to instigate the Rogers Cable to block NTDTV."

Ms. Zhang hopes that people around the world will not be deceived by the doomed CCP's disguised appearance.

"A new China without the CCP is coming soon," Zhang said.

United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) News Brief: Chinese Asylum Seeker and Her 8-Year-Old Daughter forcibly Deported From Russia

Source: Media Relations & Public Information, UNHCR, Geneva

According to credible information received by UNHCR, a Chinese asylum seeker and her 8 year-old daughter were taken by the Russian authorities from their St. Petersburg residence last Wednesday (28 March) and put on a plane departing to China via Novosibirsk. The woman and her daughter had submitted a claim for asylum in accordance with the Russian Federation Law on Refugees. Their appeal against a first negative decision was scheduled to be considered by the Dzerzhinky District court in St. Petersburg this afternoon. Both had been registered by UNHCR as persons in need of international protection.

UNHCR is concerned at their forcible deportation in violation of the Russian Federation's international obligations and of the Russian Federation Law on Refugees, both of which prohibit the return of asylum seekers to their country of origin before a final decision on their asylum claims has been made. The Russian Federation is a signatory to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees.

UNHCR is following up with the asylum seekers' legal counsel and the Russian authorities to clarify the facts of the matter.

Amnesty International Issues Urgent Call to Release Falun Gong Practitioners

Amnesty International issued an urgent letter headed "Fear of torture or ill-treatment" (AI Index: ASA 17/014/2007). It listed eight Falun Gong practitioners who need urgent rescue. They are Ms. Liang Wenjian, her husband Mr. Lin Zhiyong, Ms. Li Dongmei, Wang He (sex unknown), Wu Jiangyan (sex unknown), and three others (names unknown).

The letter says, in part, "All eight were detained on 10 February by around 10 plainclothes police officers for participating in a gathering at the home of Liang Wenjian and Lin Zhiyong. Seven of the eight Falun Gong practitioners listed above have reportedly been assigned to two years of Re-education through Labor (RTL), a form of administrative detention imposed without charge, trial or judicial review, in connection with their Falun Gong activities. One, an elderly woman (unnamed), has reportedly been sentenced to one-and-half-years. They are reportedly being held at Panyu Detention Center in Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, awaiting transfer to an RTL facility. Their families have not been officially informed and have not been allowed to meet with them."

Ottawa, Canada: Rally on Parliament Hill to Support 20 Million Withdrawals from CPP

On March 30, a rally was held on Parliament Hill to support 20 million Chinese who have formally quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its affiliated organizations. MP Rob Anders gave a speech at the rally. Former senior diplomat Brian McAdam also attended the rally. In addition, renowned Jewish scholar Rabbi Reuven Bulka and Senior Fellow for Terrorism and National Security with the Canadian Coalition for Democracies (CCD) David Harris also wrote support letters to the rally.

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Rally on Parliament Hill to support 20 million withdrawals from CCP
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Mr. Rob Anders, MP: "a great example and more people shall do the same" 

MP Rob Anders told reporters that Ms. Zhang's courageous move was very important and she had many stories to tell the public. He said that this was a great example and more people shall do the same.

In his speech, Mr. Anders commended all participants of the rally. He said that you have conveyed an important message to those who are being imprisoned, tortured and those in the Communist system.

United Kingdom: Falun Dafa Group Invited to Cambridge University

The Cambridge Falun Dafa group was invited to the "Big Chill" student event at Cambridge University on Sunday, March 4. The event was held in King's College and intended to introduce students to relaxing alternatives to help reduce stress.

In the demonstration room, Rainbow Dancing, Tai Chi massage, yoga and Falun Dafa exercises were going on throughout the day.

Many students were interested to hear about Falun Dafa and watch the exercise demonstrations. Some students were also very interested to hear about the horrific abuses happening against Falun Dafa practitioners in China and wanted to sign a petition to support an end to the persecution.

Because students wanted to learn more about the Falun Dafa exercises, impromptu classes also took place. After doing the fifth Falun Dafa exercise, "Strengthening Divine Powers," for half an hour, one student said "I can't believe that was a half hour!" Many of the students who learned the exercises that day seemed to have enjoyed the experience.

France: Rescue Efforts for Ma Jian, Manager for French Company, in Custody in Beijing
image017Falun Gong Practitioner Mr. Ma Jian is the manager of a French PCM Pumping Industry company in their Beijing office and also the company's general representative in northern Asia.

In the afternoon on February 28, 2007, Ma Jian was working in the Beijing office when suddenly a dozen policemen rushed into the office and wanted to take him away for investigation. Ma Jian insisted on staying and talking. The police then beat him and eventually arrested him by force.

During the course of the arrest, Ma Jian's belt was broken and the police removed his shoes. The next day his colleagues were asked to send him a belt and shoes but were not allow to see him.

According to insiders, Ma Jian is now imprisoned in the Eastern City District Police Station Detention Center. His home was searched and his car was towed away, also. When he heard the news, Ma Jian's father could not bear it, fell sick, and took to his bed. His mother and elder sister went to Beijing from their hometown immediately. Now his mother is staying with his parents-in-law in Beijing, and his parents-in-law are also very worried about him.

Ma Jian's employer, the French PCM Pumping Industry Company, has already informed its headquarters of this and has also contacted the French Embassy. The company wishes to rescue him through diplomatic means. According to the local police, Ma Jian explicitly said in the detention center that he would firmly continue to practice Falun Gong.

Boycott Beijing Olympics’ - French Presidential candidate

23 March, Paris: Mr.Francois Bayrou, one of the top three candidate in next month's presidential election, believes that France should boycott the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Speaking at a pro-Darfur rally earlier this week, Mr. Bayrou said, "There is nothing easier than stopping this tragedy, this genocide."

"If this drama does not stop, France would do itself credit by not coming to the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008”, he added. Mr. Bayrou visited Darfur on a private trip in 2005.

Ms. Royal, who is hoping to become the first woman president of the French Republic, also spoke at the rally and urged France and the international community to apply pressure to Beijing over Sudan before the Summer Olympics.


Ireland: Falun Dafa Group Wins Best Cultural Entry in Port Laoise St. Patrick's Day Parade

The St. Patrick's Day festival is a widely celebrated festival around the world and falls each year on March 17th. Falun Dafa practitioners from outside Ireland have participated in many St. Patrick's day parades but 2007 in Port Laoise was the first time that the Irish group participated.

The presentation of the Falun Dafa meditation practice accompanied by beautiful traditional Chinese dancing and thunderous Chinese drumming was warmly applauded by the audience.

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Falun Dafa group in the parade 

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Falun Dafa exercise demonstration on the float 

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Children were very interested in finding out more

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Traditional Chinese drum display  

 

The parade in Port Laoise had 46 entries and over a thousand participants. Local people lined the streets to watch friends and family from clubs and groups entertain the crowd. The weather was windy and rainy as is the tradition for St. Patrick's Day, but it did not dampen the spirits of participants or the audience as big crowds lined the street.

Australia: ABC-TV Reports on New Tang Dynasty Television's Chinese New Year Spectacular Show

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Australia's Attorney General Phillip Ruddock is interviewed by NTDTV

On the evening of March 28, 2007, ABC- TV's flagship current affairs program "Lateline" reported in prime time that the New Tang Dynasty Television's (NTDTV) Chinese New Year Spectacular shows would be staged in Sydney on March 29. The program also exposed the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) Consulate-General in Sydney interfering with the show.

Lateline host Tony Jones introduced at the beginning of the program that the NTDTV's Spectacular shows would be staged in Sydney beginning March 29 and showed footage of the "Divine Performing Arts" performers applying makeup backstage. The footage was shot by ABC-TV when it covered the event in Canberra. He also played a TV commercial for the NTDTV program and clips from last year's show.

Tony Jones said that the CCP's diplomats in Australia had urged Australian politicians not to attend the Chinese New Year's stage performance. The letters to New South Wales' politicians from the CCP's Consul General in Sydney were shown on TV.

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Artistic Director of the New Tang Dynasty Arts Center and lead dancer and choreographer in the Divine Performing Arts Vina Lee

Tony Jones said that, despite the CCP diplomat's efforts, there were still politicians who saw the performance, such as Australia's Attorney-General Phillip Ruddock. The program then played part of Ruddock's interview with NTDTV during the performance in Canberra. Ruddock said, "Often people don't understand the diversity of China and I think a lot of that has been brought out in the different dances and presentations that we have seen."

The program also showed an interview with the artistic director of the New Tang Dynasty Art Center, lead dancer and choreographer of the "Divine Performing Arts" Vina Lee. She said that she wanted the audience to rediscover Chinese history through the performance. She also said that this part of history was erased by the CCP during the 1960s Cultural Revolution.

She continued, "It's very easy to rebuild a material world, but it destroyed people's soul--the culture of their mind. It destroyed almost a whole generation."

While Vina Lee spoke, TV scenes were inserted of Red Guards and Criticism Meetings during the Cultural Revolution. The scenes then turned to Vina Lee applying makeup backstage, being interviewed, and the NTDTV program. From violent struggle to quiet and beautiful dance performances, the scenes showed quite a contrast.

Austria: Justice has No National Boundaries – People from All over the World Sign Petition in Support of Ending the Persecution of Falun Gong in China

“Oh, Falun Gong practitioners! I often see them in front of the Chinese embassy in Hungary,” a couple of youths from Hungary told a reporter. The young lady took a leaflet, and said she had gotten a similar one in Hungary and thus already knew about the persecution of Falun Gong by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). They immediately signed their names on the petition to condemn the CCP’s atrocities. Another couple of Hungarian youths, Hanuitos and Attila, said that their country was also once ruled by the Communist Party, and they understand very much that the Communist Party can do any type of evil.

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Students want to learn about Falun Gong

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 Meditation

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Reading display boards to learn the facts

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Signing the petition to support Falun Gong 

Vienna is Austria's capital, the world famous music city, full of tourists. Stephansdom Cathedral is one of the places every tourist must visit. Many tourists were attracted by the practitioners’ exhibition. Some of them chatted with practitioners and asked to obtain more information.

Having seen the banners, Viennese citizens and people from all over the world, including Italy, Mexico, Hungary, Taiwan, Australia, Brazil, Korea, and Germany signed their names on the petition without hesitation, to call for stopping the CCP’s atrocity. Many tourists from China passed by the exhibition and also took the booklet, the “Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party.”

 
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