Legislative Office Building in Albany, New York. Assemblymen Michael Benjamin and John J. McEneny hosted the forum.
Canadian former Secretary of State for Asia-Pacific Region David Kilgour, Mr. Haitao Xu, and Dr. Wenyi Wang were the speakers. Several Assemblymen, a State Senator, assistants from legislative offices, and the public attended.
Undeniable Evidence—Chinese Communist Party Harvests Organs From Living Falun Gong Practitioners
Assemblyman John J. McEneny introduced the forum. He said that the New York State Assembly is very concerned about the organ transplant recipients, and that their families have the right to know the source of the organs.
Assemblyman Michael Benjamin
Assemblyman Michael Benjamin: "The world needs to pay attention to the human rights persecution in China." (The Epoch Times)
mentioned that he had been paying attention to the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners and
live organ harvesting happening in China for the past few years. He said that as more Americans go to China for organ transplants, the source of the organs is worrisome. He hoped that this forum would raise public awareness of the situation.
Mr. David Kilgour presenting evidence of the organ harvesting while Assemblymen Benjamin and McEneny listen. (Epoch Times Staff)
Former Canadian State Secretary for Asia-Pacific David Kilgour introduced the independent investigative report written by himself and renowned human rights lawyer David Matas regarding the CCP's harvesting of organs from living Falun Gong practitioners. (This report, "Bloody Harvest," can be read in full online.) Mr. Kilgour said that he respects the Chinese people very much. China is the Chinese people but not the CCP regime. The CCP has killed a large number of Falun Gong practitioners, harvested their organs, and has committed unpardonable crimes.
Falun Gong practitioners follow "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance," but they are arrested and incarcerated in prisons and slave-labor camps, forced to work for long hours, forced to have their blood tested, and have physical checkups.
By conducting a through investigation, he and Mr. Matas concluded that at least 41,500 organs originated from Falun Gong practitioners. The independent investigative report provides 33 kinds of undeniable evidence. The CCP has not responded to these investigations, and moreover they announced that no more trade in organ transplants would be allowed after May 1, 2007. This act amounts to acknowledgment of the investigation's findings.
Falun Gong practitioner Haitao Xu recounts his wife Jing Chen's experience of being forced to have a chest x-ray and blood tests in a forced labor camp in China.
Falun Gong Practitioners Are Given Physical Checkups and Blood Tests
Falun Gong practitioner Haitao Xu related the situation of his wife, Jing Chen, a Falun Gong who had been imprisoned in China. While she was imprisoned, she was forced to have a physical exam and blood tests twice. Only the Falun Gong practitioners being imprisoned were given physical exams and blood tests. After being released from prison, due to continuing harassment from the police, she escaped to Malaysia, where she was granted U.N. refugee status.
On October 10, 2006, when Mr. David Matas held press conference and forum in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, introducing the investigative report of the CCP's organ harvesting from living Falun Gong practitioners, Jing Chen spoke of her experiences while being imprisoned in China. This April, the Zhanjiang City 610 Office in Guangdong Province, where Jing Chen's family resides, sent agents to Jing Chen's older brother's workplace, informing him that the 610 Office knew that Jing Chen was in Malaysia, and that she related her experiences during the organ harvesting press conference. The agents asked Jing Chen's brother to "break your relationship with her." They also asked him to send a message to Jing Chen, telling her to stop all similar activities. Otherwise, "Some special agents may arrange a car accident or use other means to cause her to disappear."
Mr. David Kilgour and Dr. Wanyi Wang answer questions from those present. (Epoch Times Staff)
Calls for an End to Atrocities
During the press conference, Dr. Wang Wenyi called on all levels of government to help stop the atrocity. She hoped that everyone would read carefully the investigative report written by David Kilgour and David Matas, particularly taking note of the section about the source of organs in the report. Falun Gong practitioners are the principal source of these organs. She suggested that governments issue a travel advisory for those going to China for organ transplants regarding the source of organs. She also suggested a law be enacted prohibiting Chinese organ transplant brokers from operating in this country.
Assemblyman Michael Benjamin said that sixty years ago, the Nazis in Germany killed the Jews. Today, people must learn a lesson from this event and avoid repeating the same mistake. Presently, China is rising as an economic power, but the world needs to pay attention to China's human rights situation. The CCP is playing a "double faced" game. On the surface, what it displays is the economy, but in the dark recesses, it uses its centralized power to suppress its people. It attempts to control people, by using threats, intimidation, murder, and illegal organ harvesting.
Audience listens attentively to the evidence of the CCP's organ harvesting from living Falun Gong practitioners. (Epoch Times Staff)
A member of the assembly asked if the World Health Organization is aware of this. Mr. Kilgour answered that the World Health Organization raised this issue to the CCP regime three months ago, but the CCP denied it. Dr. Wang Wenyi said that even though the CCP denied this issue, the CCP has enacted several laws, which shows that the CCP knows the existence of the issue. Another state assembly member said that this is an international issue and asked what the New York State Government could do to raise the awareness of this issue. Mr. Kilgour suggested the Health Department should find out how many New Yorkers have been to China for organ transplants.
Senator James S. Alesi said that he has been thinking that organs for transplantation come from dead people, but has never realized that these organs are from living Falun Gong practitioners. He suggested that the New York Health Department inform all New York physicians of the organ harvesting issue in China. He felt the Health Department should prohibit people from making referrals to China to receive organs. He expressed his belief that we should not trade with China at all until the Chinese government respects the dignity of human beings. By doing nothing we are supporting a regime in China that does not value human rights. "We can't have a relationship with a country, with a government, that does this to human beings."
Several media outlets, including the New York Times, the Times Union, FoxNews, and the Legislative Gazette, attended the forum.
