Falun Gong practitioners outside the venue of the 2014 World Transplant Congress
Photo: Minghui.org
Claims that the Chinese government was harvesting organs from political detainees and re-distributing them through their health service emerged in a report in 2006. It was compiled by two journalists, Nobel Peace Prize nominees David Kilgour and David Martas, and entitled Bloody Harvest: the killing of Falun Gong for their organs.
In their report, Kilgour and Martas allege that practitioners of Falun Gong were especially targeted for organ harvesting in the wake of the persecution of the movement by the Chinese Government in the late 1990’s. Evidence included eye witness testimony and the fact that organ transfer waiting times were significantly lower in China compared to other modern states.
There is also concern for the many Tibetan political prisoners currently jailed in China.
Cover of the book by Ethan Gutmann
A later publication, The Slaughter: Mass Killings, Organ Harvesting, and China’s Secret Solution to Its Dissident Problem, written by China expert Ethan Gutmann, supports the findings of Kilgour and Martas. Gutmann spent seven years collecting and collating interview testimony from former prisoners, torture survivors and even doctors who were actively involved in organ harvesting. His research focusses mainly on the followers of Falun Gong, but also contains interviews from Tibetans who claim to have suffered similarly at the hands of the Chinese government.
The three authors joined forces last year to launch Gutmann’s work, travelling around the United Kingdom and Canada to discuss their findings with the governments of those countries.
Falong Gong is an ancient Chinese practise combining meditation and qigong exercises. The movement centres on the tenets of truthfulness, compassion and forbearance. Though initially supported by the Chinese government, in 1999, worried by the independence and apparent power of the 70 million strong movement, the government took action andFalong Gong was declared a heretical movement. This was followed by propaganda messages and internet censorship. Mass arrests of Falong Gong followers ensued, and by 2009 at least 2,000 detainees had perished in detention centres, though many claim this figure to be much higher. Human rights groups report that Falun Gong practitioners in China are subject to a wide range of human rights abuses.
Ethan Gutman talking to the media
Photo: Epoch Times
Ethan Gutman is the author of The Slaughter: Mass Killings, Organ Harvesting, and China’s Secret Solution to Its Dissident Problem. His previous works include Losing the New China, an award winning look at life in modern China. Both publications have topped best-selling lists internationally, and are currently on sale.
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