Unveiling the Silent Atrocity: Forced Organ Harvesting in China Continues to Haunt Global Communities

In a chilling revelation during a virtual event marking the 75th anniversary of International Human Rights Day on December 10, a panel of experts shed light on the heinous crimes of forced organ harvesting perpetrated by the Chinese communist regime. While the primary victims of this atrocity are innocent Chinese citizens, the panel argued that unwitting Americans seeking organ transplants in China are also falling victim to this brutal practice.

The event, hosted by Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting (DAFOH), a Washington-based medical ethics advocacy group, brought together doctors, lawyers, politicians, and activists. Over the past two decades, evidence has emerged pointing to the Chinese regime’s clandestine mass killing of prisoners of conscience to supply its lucrative transplant industry.

The main targets of this horrific crime are adherents of Falun Gong, a spiritual practice that has faced relentless persecution by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since 1999. The revelations presented during the event underscore the ongoing nature of this practice, with panelists noting that Falun Gong practitioners remain the primary victims.

American Complicity in Unintentional Victimhood

Dr. Howard Monsour, a Texas physician, shared a disconcerting story about a patient who underwent a liver transplantation in China, an operation arranged and performed “almost immediately” over a decade ago. The patient, facing a dire prognosis and rejection by U.S. hospitals due to low survivability after transplantation, turned to China for a solution, obtaining a new liver for $88,000.

The expeditious nature of the transplant process in China raised suspicions for Monsour, prompting him to later testify before the Texas Senate in condemnation of the CCP’s forced organ harvesting. This incident serves as a chilling example of unwitting Americans becoming indirect victims of the regime’s organ trafficking.

Dr. Torsten Trey, the executive director of DAFOH, highlighted similar cases, including a heart transplant scheduled within two weeks for an Israeli patient in 2008 and the revelation that extra payments could expedite kidney transplants to a mere two days.

Systematic Abuse Revealed: Falun Gong Practitioners Targeted

The lack of an official organ donation system in China until 2015, coupled with cultural reluctance among Chinese citizens to donate organs, raises questions about the source of these organs. Senior Chinese officials initially claimed that most organs came from executed prisoners, a narrative that fell short of explaining the vast number of transplants.

After a yearlong investigation, an independent people’s tribunal in London concluded in 2019 that the regime was killing prisoners, especially Falun Gong practitioners, “on a significant scale” to meet the demands of the transplant market. The tribunal exposed the systematic abuse and internationally criticized judicial system, confirming the CCP’s role in this egregious violation of human rights.

Survivor Testimonies Paint a Disturbing Picture

Winston Liu, a former Falun Gong practitioner, recounted his ordeal within the Chinese prison system. Expelled from Tsinghua University in 1999 due to his spiritual beliefs, Liu faced constant threats, harassment, and physical torture. His harrowing experience included waterboarding, a torture method leaving enduring emotional scars.

Liu’s detailed accounts of extensive medical tests, exclusive to Falun Gong practitioners, align with findings by international human rights lawyer David Matas. The systematic organ examination and blood testing of Falun Gong practitioners, coupled with Matas and former Canadian Member of Parliament David Kilgour’s independent investigations, resulted in their report titled “Bloody Harvest,” confirming forced organ harvesting in China.

Global Silence and Calls for Action

Despite decades of investigation and well-documented evidence, the forced organ harvesting issue remains conspicuously absent from mainstream media. Italian journalist Marco Respinti attributed this silence to pressure from the CCP, emphasizing the need for media outlets to prioritize exposing this ongoing atrocity.

Dr. Zain Khalpey, a thoracic surgeon, urged medical communities to lead the charge against the CCP’s unconscionable practice. The International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation’s decision to stop accepting organ transplantation research from China serves as a commendable example, setting a standard for other medical societies to follow suit.

Calls for action are growing, with Lord Philip Hunt, a British Parliament member, emphasizing the influential role of doctors in influencing legislative change. The recent update to the UK’s bioethics law to prevent British patients from seeking organs in China reflects the impact that medical communities can have on government policies.

As the world grapples with the disturbing revelations surrounding forced organ harvesting in China, the international community faces a moral imperative to confront the CCP’s egregious human rights violations and work towards ending this horrific practice once and for all.