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{{Short description|Report on forced organ harvesting in China}}
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The '''Kilgour-Matas report''' is a disputed investigative report by Canadian MP ] and human rights lawyer ] into allegations of organ harvesting from live practitioners of the banned ] spiritual movement in China, which was published July 2006 and a revised version in January 2007.<ref name="KMRR">{{cite book|last=Kilgour|first=David|coauthors=David Matas|title=BLOODY HARVEST: Revised Report into Allegations of Organ Harvesting of Falun Gong Practitioners in China|url=http://organharvestinvestigation.net/index.html}}</ref> The investigation was commissioned by the ], and concluded that "there has been, and continues today to be, large-scale organ seizures from unwilling Falun Gong practitioners."<ref>{{cite news|title=China admits to 'transplant tourism': Plans clampdown: Health Minister vows to stop harvesting organs from prisoners|newspaper=National Post, Canada, Toronto Edition|date=November 17, 2006 Friday |date=November 17, 2006 Friday }}</ref><ref name="CSM2006">{{cite news|title=China faces suspicions about organ harvesting|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0803/p16s01-lire.html|newspaper=The Christian Science Monitor|date=August 3, 2006|date=August 3, 2006}}</ref><ref name="KMR">{{cite web|url=http://organharvestinvestigation.net/report20060706.htm|title=The First Report into Allegations of Organ Harvesting of Falun Gong Practitioners in China|last=Kilgour|first=David|coauthors=David Matas|accessdate=27 April 2010}}</ref> China has repeatedly denied the organ harvesting allegations in the report.<ref name="ctvJuly06">CTV.ca News Staff (July 6, 2006) , ''CTV.ca''. Retrieved July 8, 2006.</ref><ref>Canadian Press (July 7, 2006) , canada.com. Retrieved July 8, 2006.</ref> The '''Kilgour–Matas report''' is a 2006/2007 investigative report into allegations of live ] conducted by Canadian MP ] and human rights lawyer ]. The report was requested by the ] (CIPFG) after allegations emerged that ] practitioners were secretly having their organs removed against their will at ].<ref name="KMRR">{{cite web|author=David Kilgour|author2=David Matas |title=BLOODY HARVEST: Revised Report into Allegations of Organ Harvesting of Falun Gong Practitioners in China|date=31 January 2007|url=https://organharvestinvestigation.net/report0701/report20070131.htm|website=organharvestinginvestigation.net|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070607175100/https://organharvestinvestigation.net/report0701/report20070131.htm|archive-date=2007-06-07|url-status=live}}</ref> The report, based on circumstantial evidence, concluded that "there has been, and continues today to be, large-scale organ seizures from unwilling Falun Gong practitioners."<ref name="KMR">{{cite web |url=http://organharvestinvestigation.net/report20060706.htm|title=The First Report into Allegations of Organ Harvesting of Falun Gong Practitioners in China|author=David Kilgour|author2=David Matas |access-date=27 April 2010}}</ref> ] has consistently denied the allegations.<ref name="ctvJuly06">CTV.ca News Staff (6 July 2006) , CTV.ca. Retrieved 8 July 2006.</ref><ref name="canada.com">Canadian Press (7 July 2006) , canada.com. Retrieved 8 July 2006.</ref>


The report received a mixed reception. U.N. special rapporteur Manfred Nowak said in March 2007 that the chain of evidence Kilgour and Matas were documenting showed a "coherent picture that causes concern."<ref></ref> In November 2008, the United Nations Committee Against Torture asked for "a full explanation of the source of organ transplants", citing Nowak's note that an increase in organ transplant operations coincided with "the beginning of the persecution of ". The Committee called for China to investigate the claims of organ harvesting, and take measures to ensure that those responsible for any abuses be prosecuted.<ref name=UNCAT>United Nations Committee Against Torture,, Forty-first session, Geneva, 3-21 November 2008</ref> Investigations by Ethan Gutmann and European Parliament Vice President Edward McMillan-Scott arrived at similar conclusions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/824qbcjr.asp|title=China's Gruesome Organ Harvest. The whole world isn't watching. Why not?|last=Gutmann|first=Ethan|work=]|accessdate=27 April 2010}}</ref> <ref name=KMRR/> However, a ] report by Dr. Thomas Lum stated that the Kilgour-Matas report relied largely on logical inference, without bringing forth new or independently-obtained testimony; the credibility of much of the key evidence was said to be questionable.<ref name=lum/> Glen McGregor of the '']'' was sceptical about the logistical plausibility of the allegations after visiting the site. He said that, 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".<ref name=glen>Glen McGregor, , '']'', November 24, 2007</ref> The initial 6 July 2006 report found that, "the source of 41,500 transplants for the six-year period 2000 to 2005 is unexplained" and concluded that "there has been and continues today to be large scale organ seizures from unwilling Falun Gong practitioners."<ref name=KMR/> U.N. special rapporteur Manfred Nowak said in March 2007 that the chain of evidence Kilgour and Matas were documenting showed a "coherent picture that causes concern",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.david-kilgour.com/2007/Dec_03_2007_01a.htm |title=An Interview with U.N. Special Rapporteur on Organ Harvesting in China |publisher=David-kilgour.com |date=12 March 2007 |access-date= 7 June 2012}}</ref> which the ] followed up in November 2008 with a request for "a full explanation of the source of organ transplants", to investigate the claims of organ harvesting, and to take measures to prosecute those committing abuses.<ref name=UNCAT/> Other investigators, such as ], followed the Kilgour–Matas report; Gutmann estimating that between 450,000 and 1 million Falun Gong members were detained at any given time, and estimated that tens of thousands may have been targeted for organ harvesting.<ref name=gutmann>{{cite web|url=http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/824qbcjr.asp|title=China's Gruesome Organ Harvest. The whole world isn't watching. Why not?|author=Ethan Gutmann|work=]|access-date=27 April 2010|archive-date=24 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120524133009/http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/824qbcjr.asp|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=washingtontimes>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/apr/27/chinese-accused-of-vast-trade-in-organs/?page=all|author=Julia Duin|date=27 April 2010|title=Chinese accused of vast trade in organs|work=]}}</ref>


Upon release of the initial report on July 6, Chinese officials declared that China abided by ] principles that prohibit the sale of human organs without written consent from donors. They denounced the report as smears "based on rumours and false allegations," and said the Chinese government had already investigated the claims and found them without any merit.<ref name=ccpembassy>{{cite web|author=Chinese Embassy in Canada |title=Response to the so called "China's organ harvesting report |url=http://www.chinaembassycanada.org/eng/xw/t261810.htm |date=July 6, 2006 |accessdate=July 12, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t263446.htm |title=Exposing the Lies of "Falun Gong" Cult |publisher=www.china-embassy.org |accessdate=Jun. 14, 2010 }}</ref> A ] report said that some of the report’s key allegations appeared to be inconsistent with the findings of other investigations, though did not provide details.<ref>CRS Report for Congress (August 11, 2006),'']'', retrieved November 12, 2007</ref> The US state department maintained that "ndependent of these specific allegations, the United States remains concerned over China’s repression of Falun Gong practitioners and by reports of organ harvesting."<ref name=usgov1></ref> Upon release of the initial report on 6 July 2006, Chinese officials declared that China abides by ] principles that prohibit the sale of human organs without written consent from donors. They denounced the report as smears "based on rumours and false allegations", and said the Chinese government had already investigated the claims and found them without any merit.<ref name=ccpembassy>{{cite web|author=Chinese Embassy in Canada |title=Response to the so called "China's organ harvesting report |url=http://www.chinaembassycanada.org/eng/xw/t261810.htm |date=6 July 2006 |access-date=12 July 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060903082953/http://www.chinaembassycanada.org/eng/xw/t261810.htm |archive-date=3 September 2006 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t263446.htm |title=Exposing the Lies of 'Falun Gong' Cult |publisher=china-embassy.org |access-date=14 June 2010 }}</ref> The report is banned in Russia and China.<ref name="news.nationalpost.com">{{cite web|url=http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/12/24/extremist-writings-of-ex-canadian-mp-lawyer-banned-in-russia-because-of-criticisms-of-china/|work=National Post|author=Joseph Brean|title='Extremist' writings of ex-Canadian MP, lawyer banned in Russia because of criticisms of China|date=24 December 2011}}</ref> Among international concerns, the US National Kidney Foundation expressed that it was "deeply concerned" about the allegations.<ref name="kidney.org"> National Kidney Foundation, 14 August 2006. Retrieved 18 August 2006</ref>


Kilgour and Matas were nominated for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize for their research,<ref>{{cite news|title=Ex-MP Kilgour, lawyer get Nobel nomination |url=http://www.edmontonjournal.com/life/Kilgour+lawyer+Nobel+nomination/2590256/story.html|newspaper=EDMONTON JOURNAL}}</ref> and received the 2009 Human Rights Award by the International Society for Human Rights for the work.<ref>{{cite news|title=Winnipeg lawyer nominated for Nobel Peace Prize|url=http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/Winnipeg-lawyer-nominated-for-Nobel-Peace-Prize-84771137.html|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press.}}</ref> In 2009, the authors published the report as a book, titled "Bloody Harvest."<ref>{{cite news|title=Chinese accused of vast trade in organs|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/apr/27/chinese-accused-of-vast-trade-in-organs/print/|newspaper=Washington Times}}</ref> In 2009, the authors published an updated version of the report as a book, titled ''Bloody Harvest, The killing of Falun Gong for their organs'',<ref name=BHbook>{{cite news|author=David Kilgour |author2=David Matas |title=Bloody Harvest, The killing of Falun Gong for their organs |url=http://www.seraphimeditions.com/bloody-harvest.html |publisher=seraphimeditions.com |date=2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141018063316/http://www.seraphimeditions.com/bloody-harvest.html |archive-date=18 October 2014 }}</ref><ref name="washingtontimes.com">{{cite news|title=Chinese accused of vast trade in organs|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/apr/27/chinese-accused-of-vast-trade-in-organs/print/|newspaper=The Washington Times}}</ref> and in the same year received an award from the ].<ref name="Winnipeg"/>


==Background==
The reports led to the Australian Health Ministry's abolition of training programs for Chinese doctors and the banning of joint research programs with China on organ transplantation.<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,20876865-1702,00.html?from=public_rss
|title=Hospitals ban training Chinese surgeons
|author=]
|date=] ]
|publisher=]}}</ref>. The US National Kidney Foundation expressed that it was "deeply concerned" about the allegations.<ref> National Kidney Foundation, August 14, 2006, retrieved 2006-08-18</ref> Taiwan urged its citizens not to travel to China to receive transplants. <ref>{{cite news|last=Hsu|first=Elizabeth|title=Taiwan people urged not to travel to China for organ transplants|newspaper=Taiwanese Central News Agency}}</ref>


===Falun Gong===
==Organ transplantation in the People's Republic of China==
{{See also|History of Falun Gong}}
{{Main|Organ transplantation in the People's Republic of China}}


Falun Gong is a spiritual discipline that combines meditation and exercises with a moral philosophy, emerged in China in the 1990s; by 1999 the number of practitioners was estimated in the tens of millions.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Seth Faison|title= In Beijing: A Roar of Silent Protestors|url=http://partners.nytimes.com/library/world/asia/042799china-protest.html|journal=The New York Times|date= 27 April 1999}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Joseph Kahn|title= Notoriety Now for Movement's Leader|url=http://partners.nytimes.com/library/world/asia/042799china-protest-leader.html|journal=The New York Times|date= 27 April 1999}}</ref>
</ref><ref name="KMRR" /> ]]


In July 1999, following a large-scale demonstration to request official recognition, Chinese authorities initiated a nationwide campaign to ], and created the ] to oversee and coordinate the elimination of Falun Gong.<ref name=Jamestown>Sarah Cook and Leeshai Lemish, , China Brief, Volume 11 Issue 17 (9 November 2011).</ref><ref name=Tong>James Tong, '']'', ] (2009).</ref><ref name=dangerous>{{cite book |author=Mickey Spiegel |url=http://hrw.org/reports/2002/china/ |title=Dangerous Meditation: China's Campaign Against Falungong |publisher=Human Rights Watch |year=2002 |isbn=978-1-56432-270-8|access-date=28 September 2007}}</ref> The suppression that followed was accompanied by what ] called a "massive propaganda campaign",<ref name=Amnesty>Amnesty International 23 March 2000</ref> as well as the detention and imprisonment of tens of thousands of Falun Gong adherents.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=state.gov|url= https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61605.htm|title= 2005 Country Report on Human Rights, China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|date= 8 March 2006}}</ref><ref>Freedom House, , January 2015</ref> Former detainees reported that in some labour camps, Falun Gong practitioners comprised the majority population, and were singled out for abuse.<ref>{{cite web|work=Human Rights Watch|url=https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/china1205wcover.pdf|title=We Could Disappear at Any Time|date= 7 December 2005}}</ref><ref>Chinese Human Rights Defenders, {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118005433/http://docs.law.gwu.edu/facweb/dclarke/public/CHRD_RTL_Report.pdf |date=18 January 2012 }}, 4 February 2009</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Amnesty International|title=Changing the soup but not the medicine: Abolishing re-education through labor in China|date=Dec 2013|location=London, UK|url=https://www.amnesty.org/es/documents/asa17/042/2013/es/}}</ref> Under order from Beijing, practitioners are subject to coercive "reeducation" and torture, sometimes resulting in deaths.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Ian Johnson|title=Death Trap - How One Chinese City Resorted to Atrocities To Control Falun Dafa |journal=The Wall Street Journal|date=26 December 2000}}</ref><ref name=breaking>{{cite news|author=Philip Pan and John Pomfret|title=Torture is Breaking Falun Gong|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2001/08/05/torture-is-breaking-falun-gong/ea6c5341-c7a7-47c9-9674-053049b7323d/ |newspaper=The Washington Post|date=5 August 2000|access-date=16 November 2014}}</ref><ref>Andrew Jacobs. , ''The New York Times'', 27 April 2009.</ref> Due to limited access to victims and labour camp facilities, however, many specific reports of abuses are difficult to independently corroborate.<ref name=dangerous/>
China has had an organ transplantation programme since the 1960s, and is one of the largest ] programmes in the world, peaking at over 13,000 transplants a year in 2004.<ref name=Lancet> '']'', 20 October 2008, retrieved September 24, 2010</ref>Involuntary ] is illegal under Chinese law; though, under a 1984 regulation, it became legal to remove organs from executed criminals with the prior consent of the criminal or permission of relatives. Growing concerns about possible ethical abuses arising from coerced consent and corruption led medical groups and human rights organizations, by the 1990s, to start condemning the practice.<ref name=TTS>{{cite web|url=https://www.dafoh.org/TTS__policy_on_Interactions.php |title=TTS' policy on Interactions with China |publisher=Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting |accessdate=May 24, 2010 }}</ref> These concerns resurfaced in 2001, when '']'' reported claims by a Chinese asylum-seeking doctor that he had taken part in organ extraction operations.


===Organ transplantation in China===
By 2005 the WMA had specifically demanded that China cease using prisoners as organ donors.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wma.net/en/30publications/10policies/30council/cr_5/index.html |title=The World Medical Association Council Resolution on Organ Donation in China |publisher=World Medical Association |accessdate=Jun. 9, 2010 }}</ref> In December of that year, China's Deputy Health Minister acknowledged that the practice of removing organs from executed prisoners for transplant was widespread - as many as 95% of all organ transplants in China derived from executions,<ref>Congressional Executive Commission on China Annual Report 2006, p. 59; note 224, p.201</ref> and he promised steps to prevent abuse.<ref name=tidyup>Jane Macartney, , '']'', December 3, 2005</ref><ref name=lum>Lum, Thomas (August 11, 2006). , Congressional Research Service</ref>
{{Main|Organ transplantation in China}}


China has had an organ transplantation programme since the 1960s. It is one of the largest ] programmes in the world, peaking at over 13,000 transplants a year in 2004.<ref name=Lancet> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717010334/http://www.thelancetglobalhealthnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/Health-System-Reform-in-China-CMT-11.pdf |date=17 July 2011 }} '']'', 20 October 2008. Retrieved 24 September 2010</ref> Involuntary ] is illegal under Chinese law, although under a 1984 regulation it became legal to remove organs from executed criminals with the prior consent of the criminal or permission of relatives. By the 1990s, growing concerns about possible ethical abuses arising from coerced consent and corruption led medical groups and human rights organizations to start condemning the practice.<ref name=TTS>{{cite web|url=http://www.dafoh.org/the-transplantation-societys-policy-on-interactions-with-china |title=TTS' policy on Interactions with China |date=15 August 2007 |publisher=Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting |access-date=17 November 2014 }}</ref> These concerns resurfaced in 2001, when '']'' reported claims by a Chinese asylum-seeking doctor that he had taken part in organ extraction operations.
==Sujiatun allegations==
{{main|Persecution of Falun Gong}}


By 2005 the ] had specifically demanded that China cease using prisoners as organ donors.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wma.net/en/30publications/10policies/30council/cr_5/index.html |title=The World Medical Association Council Resolution on Organ Donation in China |publisher=World Medical Association |access-date=9 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101204232011/http://www.wma.net/en/30publications/10policies/30council/cr_5/index.html |archive-date=4 December 2010}}</ref> In December of that year, China's Deputy Health Minister acknowledged that the practice of removing organs from executed prisoners for transplant was widespread – as many as 95% of all organ transplants in China derived from executions,<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303222135/https://bulk.resource.org/gpo.gov/hearings/109h/29862.pdf |date=3 March 2016 }} p. 59; note 224, p.201</ref> and he promised steps to prevent abuse.<ref name=lum>{{cite web|author=Thomas Lum |date=11 August 2006 |url=http://www.usembassy.it/pdf/other/RL33437.pdf |title=China and Falun Gong |publisher=usembassy.it |access-date=7 June 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205064042/http://www.usembassy.it/pdf/other/RL33437.pdf |archive-date= 5 February 2012 }}</ref><ref name=tidyup>Jane Macartney, , '']'', 3 December 2005</ref>
Falun Gong is a spiritual movement which was banned by the government of China in 1999,<ref name=PDO990730/> being labelled as an "evil ]" by the official Chinese press.<ref name="lawsuretobeat">{{Cite news|url=http://english.people.com.cn/special/fagong/1999122900F102.html|title=China Bans Falun Gong: Law Sure to Beat Cults: Article |date=29 December 1999|publisher=] Online|accessdate=16 October 2009}}</ref> ] noted the arbitary arrests and physical torture upon Falun Gong practitioners in the Chinese government's suppression campaign.<ref name="CRS2006">{{Cite web| url = http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/67820.pdf | title = CRS Report for Congress: China and Falun Gong | publisher=] | author=Thomas Lum | date = 25 May 2006|format=PDF}}</ref><ref name="Amnesty1">{{Cite web|url=http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/engASA170112000 |title=China: The crackdown on Falun Gong and other so-called "heretical organizations"|date=23 March 2000|publisher=Amnesty International|accessdate=17 March 2010}}</ref>


===Sujiatun===
] in Hong Kong enacting "live organ harvesting" in China.]]
The first allegations of systematic organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners were made in March 2006 by two individuals claiming to possess knowledge of involuntary organ extractions at the ] in Shenyang, Liaoning province. Within one month of press coverage, third party investigators, including representatives of the US Department of State, said that there was insufficient evidence to prove the allegations.<ref name=lum1>Congressional Research Service report, {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205064042/http://www.usembassy.it/pdf/other/RL33437.pdf |date= 5 February 2012 }}, page CRS-7, paragraph 3</ref> In 2006 and 2008, United Nations Special Rapporteurs raised questions about the sources of organs, the short waiting times for finding perfectly matched organs, and the correlation between the sudden increase in organ transplants in China and the beginning of the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. These requests were not satisfactorily addressed by the Chinese authorities. In November 2008 the United Nations Committee Against Torture noted its concern at the allegations and called for China to "immediately conduct or commission an independent investigation of the claims", and take measures "to ensure that those responsible for such abuses are prosecuted and punished". Chinese dissident ], who exposed organ harvesting from prison inmates at '']'' (hard labour camps), questioned the credibility of the Sujiatun whistle-blowers.<ref>{{cite web|author=Frank Stirk |url=http://www.canadianchristianity.com/cgi-bin/bc.cgi?bc/bccn/0606/07chinese |archive-url=https://archive.today/20070211125741/http://www.canadianchristianity.com/cgi-bin/bc.cgi?bc/bccn/0606/07chinese |url-status=dead |archive-date=2007-02-11 |title=Canadians probe Chinese organ harvesting claims |publisher=Canadian Christianity }}</ref><ref name=challenge>{{cite web | url=http://www.cicus.org/info_eng/artshow.asp?ID=6492 | title=Statement of Harry Wu about Sujiatun issue | author=Harry Wu | publisher =Observechina.net | date=8 June 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717051720/http://www.cicus.org/info_eng/artshow.asp?ID=6492 |archive-date=17 July 2011}}</ref> But Harry Wu's July 2006 article showed his views in his 21 March letter were formed before completing his investigation, and were not based on his full investigation. Further, Harry Wu characterized the volume of organ harvesting described by the pseudonymous informant "Annie" as "technically impossible", but in fact it is technically possible, according to the Matas/Kilgour report.<ref name="rebuttal to Harry Wu">{{cite web | url=http://organharvestinvestigation.net/report0701/report20070131.htm#_Toc158023109 | title=Appendix 16. Sujiatun | author=Matas/Kilgour | publisher =organharvestinvestigation.net}}</ref> On 14 April 2006, the US state department wrote that "U.S. representatives have found no evidence to support allegations that a site in northeast China has been used as a concentration camp to jail Falun Gong practitioners and harvest their organs", adding "independent of these specific allegations, the United States remains concerned over China’s repression of Falun Gong practitioners and by reports of organ harvesting."<ref name=usgov1>{{cite web|url=http://www.america.gov/st/washfile-english/2006/April/20060416141157uhyggep0.5443231.html |title=U.S. Finds No Evidence of Alleged Concentration Camp in China |publisher=America.gov |date=16 April 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080214222005/http://www.america.gov/st/washfile-english/2006/April/20060416141157uhyggep0.5443231.html |archive-date=14 February 2008 }}</ref>
Throughout March 2006, the Falun Gong-affiliated '']'' (ET) published articles containing allegations by three anonymous individuals claiming to be eyewitnesses to organ harvesting at the Sujiatun Thrombosis Hospital and beyond, labelling it "Sujiatun Concentration Camp".<ref name=scmp>{{Cite news|work=South China Morning Post |title=Activist Harry Wu challenges organ harvesting claims |first=Paul |last=Mooney |date=August 9, 2006}}</ref> One of the individuals, said to have worked in the Malaysian-owned hospital, alleged that the basement housed 6,000 Falun Gong practitioners, the bodies of whom were thrown directly into a 'crematorium' after their organs had been extracted.<ref name=epoch2>Ji Da, , ''Epoch Times'', March 17, 2006</ref> Another individual who identified himself as a veteran military doctor in Shenyang was cited by ET to corroborate the claim. He said Sujiatun was just one of up to 36 such sites across China between which practitioners were rapidly transferred. <ref name=sourcereveals>, ''Epoch Times'', March 31, 2006, retrieved September 24, 2010</ref>


Soon thereafter, in May 2006, The ] asked David Kilgour as well as Canadian human rights lawyer David Matas to investigate the broader allegations of organ harvesting from Falun Gong adherents in China. Kilgour and Matas agreed to investigate.<ref name="KMRR"/><ref name="Newswire">{{cite news|publisher=]|date=20 July 2006|url=http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=69292|title=Independent Investigators to Present Findings From Investigation on China's Organ Harvesting From Prisoners of Conscience|access-date=26 July 2006}}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman rejected the ''Epoch Times'' claims about Sujiatun, stating that the hospital was incapable of housing 6,000 persons,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chinaembassycanada.org/eng/xw/t244686.htm |title=Embassy Spokesperson: Lies about the So-called "Sujiatun Concentration Camp" Concocted by "Falun Gong" Not Worth Refuting |date=April 6, 2006 |publisher=Chinese Embassy in Canada}}</ref> and that the allegations were logistically impossible.<ref> (March 28, 2006) '']''. Retrieved July 8, 2006.</ref> Investigators sent by dissident Harry Wu to Sujiatun three days after the story surfaced found no evidence of the existence of the alleged concentration camp.<ref>{{cite web|title=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 |author=Observechina.net |url=http://www.observechina.net/info/artshow.asp?ID=39862 |language=Chinese |date=July 18, 2006}} </ref><ref>Frank Stirk, , Canadian Christianity, retrieved September 24, 2010</ref><ref name=glen>Glen McGregor, , '']'', November 24, 2007</ref> In April 2006, US State Department officials who had visited the site twice reported back that no evidence was found that the site was being used as anything but a normal public hospital.<ref name=lum/><ref name=usgov1>{{cite web|url=http://www.america.gov/st/washfile-english/2006/April/20060416141157uhyggep0.5443231.html |title=U.S. Finds No Evidence of Alleged Concentration Camp in China |publisher=US Government |date=April 16, 2006 |accessdate=Dec. 18, 2009}}</ref> Kilgour, and Ethan Gutmann, adjunct fellow at the ] stated that three weeks between when the story broke to when the US representatives' visited was long enough for the Chinese to have covered it up.<ref name=gutmann/><ref name=gutmann>Ethan Gutmann, , ''Weekly Standard'', May 8, 2006, Volume 011, Issue 32</ref><ref name=defendsclaims>Tony Jones, , Australian Broadcasting Corporation, August 15, 2006. Retrieved August 18, 2006.</ref>


==The report== ==The report==


===First report===
At the request of the ],<ref>US Newswire (July 20, 2006) . Retrieved July 26, 2006.</ref> David Kilgour and David Matas reported on July 20, 2006 that large numbers of Falun Gong practitioners throughout China were victims of systematic organ harvesting whilst still alive.<ref name=orgharv>{{cite web|url=http://organharvestinvestigation.net/ |title=An Independent Investigation into Allegations of Organ Harvesting of Falun Gong Practitioners in China |author=Kilgour & Matas |publisher=organharvestinvestigation.net |accessdate=Jun. 9, 2010 }}</ref> The findings of their investigation were controversial as the conclusions were based on circumstantial evidence.<ref name=theage060708>Reuters, AP (July 8, 2006) , ''The Age'', (Australia). Retrieved July 7, 2006.</ref> The Falun Gong allegations were not verifiable due to the lack of independent bodies which investigate conditions in China, eyewitness evidence, and official information about organ transplantation. The investigation was conducted by remote interview as Kilgour and Matas did not have direct access to the country.<ref name=Ottawa/> The authors said the combination of the strands allowed them to deduce that the allegations of China's harvesting of organs from live Falun Gong practitioners were true.<ref name=Ottawa>Endemann, Kirstin (July 6, 2006) CanWest News Service; ''Ottawa Citizen'', Retrieved July 6, 2006.</ref><ref>''Calgary Herald'' (July 5, 2006). , Retrieved July 8, 2006.</ref>


On 20 July 2006, Kilgour and Matas presented the findings of their two-month investigation as ''Report into Allegations of Organ Harvesting of Falun Gong Practitioners in China''.<ref name="Newswire"/> The report presented 33 strands of circumstantial evidence that Kilgour and Matas felt, in the absence of any disproof, cumulatively allowed the conclusion 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".<ref name="KMRR"/> The report called attention to the extremely short wait times for organs in China – one to two weeks for a liver compared with 32.5 months in Canada – noting that this was indicative of organs being procured on demand. It also tracked a significant increase in the number of annual organ transplants in China beginning in 1999, corresponding with the onset of the persecution of Falun Gong. Despite very low levels of voluntary organ donation, China performs the second-highest number of transplants per year. Kilgour and Matas also presented material from Chinese transplant center web sites advertising the immediate availability of organs from living donors, and transcripts of telephone interviews in which hospitals told prospective transplant recipients that they could obtain Falun Gong organs.<ref name="KMRR"/> The authors qualified their findings by noting the difficulties in verifying the alleged crimes, such as: independent bodies were not allowed to investigate conditions in China, eyewitness evidence was difficult to obtain, official information about organ transplantation was often withheld, and Kilgour and Matas themselves were denied visas to go to China to investigate.<ref name="KMRR"/>
Kilgour and Matas sought to visit China for further investigation but were denied entry. <ref name="KMRR" /> The authors had difficulty in verifying the Falun Gong allegations due to the lack of independent bodies which investigate conditions in China, availability of eyewitness evidence, and official information about organ transplantation. They had to conduct their investigation by interview as they were unable to get direct access to the country.<ref name="KMRR" /> Mandarin speaking investigators, presenting themselves as potential recipients or relatives of potential recipients, called in to a number of hospitals and transplant doctors to ask about transplants. The calls resulted in a number of statements that Falun Gong practitioners were used as sources of organs for transplantation. <ref name="KMRR" />


==Reception== ===Second report===
In a January 2007 revision, ''Bloody Harvest: Revised Report into Allegations of Organ Harvesting of Falun Gong Practitioners in China'', Kilgour and Matas felt that the Government of China had reinforced the basis of the first report by responding to it in an unpersuasive way, mostly as attacks on Falun Gong. Kilgour and Matas believed such attacks made possible the violation of the basic human rights of Falun Gong practitioners.<ref name=r>{{cite web|url=http://organharvestinvestigation.net/report0701/report20070131.htm#_Toc160145135|publisher=organharvestinvestigation.net|title=Bloody Harvest, Section 23) Massive arrests and 33) Government of China responses |author=David Matas, David Kilgour|date=31 January 2007}}</ref> China identified two factual errors in the first version of the report – one in an appendix, in a caption heading, where Kilgour and Matas placed two Chinese cities in the wrong provinces; the authors dismissed those errors as having nothing to do with the analysis or conclusions of their report.<ref name=r/> In the absence of evidence that would invalidate the organ harvesting allegations – such as a Chinese government registry showing the identity of every organ donor and their donation – Kilgour and Matas concluded that the allegations of China's harvesting organs from live Falun Gong practitioners were true and the practice was ongoing. They called for a ban on Canadian citizens traveling to China for transplant operations.<ref>Kirstin Endemann, CanWest News Service; Ottawa Citizen (6 July 2006) {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017095219/http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=290fed94-d0c2-4265-8686-54ce75d08eca&k=34245 |date=17 October 2015 }}, Canada.com. Retrieved 6 July 2006</ref><ref>Reuters, AP (8 July 2006), ''The Age''. Retrieved 7 July 2006</ref><ref>
Calgary Herald (5 July 2006) {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070313175955/http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/theeditorialpage/story.html?id=c990936c-e208-4601-888f-810ff73bd994 |date=13 March 2007 }}, Canada.com. Retrieved 8 July 2006</ref>


As of November 2014 the report has been translated into 21 languages.<ref name="KMRR"/>
China has repeatedly denied the organ harvesting allegations in the report.<ref name="ctvJuly06">CTV.ca News Staff (July 6, 2006) , ''CTV.ca''. Retrieved July 8, 2006.</ref><ref>Canadian Press (July 7, 2006) , canada.com. Retrieved July 8, 2006.</ref> Upon release of the initial report on July 6, Chinese officials immediately declared that China abided by ] principles that prohibit the sale of human organs without written consent from donors. They denounced the report as smears "based on rumours and false allegations," and said the the claims had been investigated and found to be without any merit.<ref name=ccpembassy>{{cite web|author=Chinese Embassy in Canada |title=Response to the so called "China's organ harvesting report |url=http://www.chinaembassycanada.org/eng/xw/t261810.htm |date=July 6, 2006 |accessdate=July 12, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t263446.htm |title=Exposing the Lies of "Falun Gong" Cult |publisher=www.china-embassy.org |accessdate=June 14, 2010 }}</ref>


===Books===
A ] report by Dr. Thomas Lum stated that the Kilgour-Matas report relied largely on logical inference, without bringing forth new or independently-obtained testimony; the credibility of much of the key evidence was said to be questionable.<ref name=lum/> Glen McGregor of the '']'' was sceptical about the logistical plausibility of the allegations after visiting the site. He said that, 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".<ref name=glen>Glen McGregor, , '']'', November 24, 2007</ref>
In 2009, Kilgour and Matas published an updated version of the report as a book, titled ''Bloody Harvest, The killing of Falun Gong for their organs''. It contains new material and interviews, and is in two parts. The first section sets out the evidence; the second section details the reactions the final report received and the advocacy Matas and Kilgour undertook to end the abuse that they conclusively identified.<ref name=BHbook/><ref name="washingtontimes.com"/> That year, Kilgour and Matas also received the 2009 Human Rights Award by the German-based ];<ref name=Winnipeg>{{cite news|title=Winnipeg lawyer nominated for Nobel Peace Prize|url=http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/Winnipeg-lawyer-nominated-for-Nobel-Peace-Prize-84771137.html|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|date= 19 February 2010|last=Santin|first=Aldo}}</ref> and were nominated for the ].<ref name=nomination>{{cite news|title=Crusader up for Nobel Prize Lawyer lauded for investigating abuses in China|url=http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/crusader-up-for-nobel-prize-84838397.html|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press|author=Aldo Santin|date=20 February 2010}}</ref>


In 2012, ''State Organs: Transplant Abuse in China'', edited by David Matas and Torsten Trey was published with contributions from a dozen specialists.<ref name=stateorgans>{{cite news|title=State Organs, Transplant Abuse in China |url=http://www.seraphimeditions.com/state-organs.html |publisher=seraphimeditions.com |author=David Matas and Torsten Trey |date=2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150224121713/http://seraphimeditions.com/state-organs.html |archive-date=24 February 2015 }}</ref>
Kirk C. Allison, Associate Director of the Program in Human Rights and Medicine in the University of Minnesota, (2006) and Tom Treasure of Guy's Hospital, London (2007), considered the report "plausible from a medical standpoint" based on the numerical gap in the number of transplants and the short waiting times in China compared with other countries,<ref name=treasure>{{cite web|url=https://www.dafoh.org/Article_by_Dr.php |title=The Falun Gong, organ transplantation, the holocaust and ourselves |author=Treasure, Tom |work=Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine |vol=100 |date = March 2007|pages=119–121|publisher=Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting |accessdate=May 21, 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tc.umn.edu/~falun/document/all092906.pdf |title=Falun Gong, Organ Harvesting in China, and the Human Rights Case for an Independent Congressional Investigation &ndash; testimony submitted by Kirk C. Allison |format=PDF |date=September 29, 2006 |work=Open Hearing of the Subcommittee on Oversight and
Investigations |accessdate=Feb. 4, 2010 |publisher=University of Minnesota}}</ref><ref>, ''The Epoch Times'', August 7, 2006, retrieved September 24, 2010</ref> Allison said that the "short time frame of an on-demand system requires a large pool of donors pre-typed for blood group and HLA matching," and would be consist with the Falun Gong allegations about the systematic tissue typing of practitioners held prisoner.<ref>, ''The Epoch Times'', August 7, 2006, retrieved September 24, 2010</ref>


==Response==
Hong Kong-based ] aired a programme in June 2007 which refuted the ''Epoch Times'' allegations, and attacked the Kilgour-Matas report. The programme showed how the hospital was not equipped for organ transplantation; the premises and staffing were inadequate for housing thousands of prisoners; and that the alleged incinerator was a water-boiler. The hospital itself denied the claimed witnesses were employees; and doctors interviewed also denied involvement.<ref name=phoenix>{{cite web|url=http://phtv.ifeng.com/program/shnjd/200706/0628_1612_144064.shtml |title=The truth behind the so-called "Falun Gong practitioner concentration camp" |accessdate=August 15, 2008 |work=] |date=June 28, 2007 }}</ref>
The report's allegations of involuntary organ removal from Falun Gong adherents received considerable media coverage, particularly in Canada, Europe, and Australia. Several governments tightened transplant tourism practices and requested more information from the Chinese government. Chinese officials repeatedly denied the report's organ harvesting allegations.<ref name="ctvJuly06"/><ref name="canada.com"/> Upon release of the initial report, China declared they abided by ] principles that prohibit the sale of human organs without written consent from donors and denounced the report.
In May 2008 two United Nations Special Rapporteurs reiterated their previous request for the Chinese authorities to adequately respond to the allegations,<ref name=marketwireun2>, May 9, 2008 retrieved September 24, 2010</ref> and to explain the source of organs which would account for the sudden increase in organ transplants in China since 2000. In November 2008, the United Nations Committee Against Torture noted its concern at the allegations and called for China to "immediately conduct or commission an independent investigation of the claims", and take measures "to ensure that those responsible for such abuses are prosecuted and punished".<ref name=UNCAT>United Nations Committee Against Torture, , Forty-first session, Geneva, November 3–21, 2008; retrieved September 24, 2010</ref> In 2007, Kilgour and Matas continued to assert that "large scale" organ harvesting was still taking place.<ref>Matas D, Kilgour, D (November 28, 2009) : Revised 2007. Retrieved November 28, 2009.</ref> but David Ownby, a noted expert on Falun Gong, said: "I see no evidence proving is aimed particularly at Falun Gong practitioners."<ref name=radiocan>{{cite web| url=http://www.radio-canada.ca/apropos/lib/v3.1/pdf/revfalungongenglish.pdf |title=Review by the Ombudsman, French Services of Complaint filed by the Falun Dafa Association of Canada |date=January 27, 2009 |accessdate= September 24, 2010}}</ref>


Amnesty International in 2006 said it was "continuing to analyze sources of information" about the allegations.<ref>{{cite web|title=Amnesty International Fact Sheet on Persecution of Falun Gong |url=https://www.amnesty.org.nz/web/pages/home.nsf/dd5cab6801f1723585256474005327c8/83fba691f912206bcc2571d3001824ed!OpenDocument |publisher=amnesty.org.nz |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061009071026/http://www.amnesty.org.nz/web/pages/home.nsf/dd5cab6801f1723585256474005327c8/83fba691f912206bcc2571d3001824ed%21OpenDocument |archive-date= 9 October 2006 }}</ref> David Ownby, a professor of history at the ] and expert on Falun Gong, wrote in ''Falun Gong and the Future of China'' that Falun Gong practitioners were probable candidates for organ harvesting in Chinese prisons. However, he felt that Falun Gong spokespersons "overplayed their hand" with the concentration camp allegations, potentially losing credibility in the eyes of neutral observers, despite the real persecution they were suffering.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bwqkwx4SWS0C&pg=PA224|title=Falun Gong and the Future of China|author=David Ownby|pages=224–226|publisher=Oxford University Press|date= 19 March 2008|isbn=9780199716371}}</ref> A ] report by Thomas Lum said that the report relies on logical inferences and telephone call transcripts which, he suggested, may not be credible.<ref name=lum/> Glen McGregor of the '']'' was skeptical about the logistical plausibility of the allegations after visiting Sujiatun at the invitation of the Chinese Medical Association. He said that, depending on whom 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".<ref name=glen>Glen McGregor, , '']'', 24 November 2007</ref>
Amnesty International stated that it is "continuing to analyze sources of information about the Falun Gong organ harvesting allegations, including the report published by Canadians David Matas and David Kilgour." Amnesty points out that there is "a widely documented practice of the buying and selling of organs of death penalty prisoners in China." The report from Amnesty continues to say that while "it is unknown how many Falun Gong practitioners are being executed by the Chinese authorities...various sources indicate China may be executing between 10,000-15,000 people a year."<ref>Amnesty International Fact Sheet on Persecution of Falun Gong, </ref>


Some observers found the report and its figures plausible. Tom Treasure of ], London, said the Kilgour–Matas report was "plausible from a medical standpoint" based on the numerical gap in the number of transplants and the short waiting times in China compared with other countries.<ref name=treasure>{{cite journal|url=http://www.dafoh.org/Article_by_Dr.php |title=The Falun Gong, organ transplantation, the holocaust and ourselves |author=Tom Treasure |journal=Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine |volume=100 |issue=3 |date=March 2007 |pages=119–121 |access-date=21 May 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201090050/http://www.dafoh.org/Article_by_Dr.php |archive-date=1 December 2008 |doi=10.1177/014107680710000308|pmid=17339305 |pmc=1809171 }}</ref> He noted the existence of blood tests of imprisoned Falun Gong followers, which is not useful for the victims but is critical to organ donation, and said the allegations were "credible". Non-fiction writer ] included the allegations in his book ''The Red Market'', writing "No one is saying the Chinese government went after the Falun Gong specifically for their organs... but it seems to have been a remarkably convenient and profitable way to dispose of them. Dangerous political dissidents were executed while their organs created a comfortable revenue stream for hospitals and surgeons, and presumably many important Chinese officials received organs."<ref>{{cite book|author=Scott Carney|title=The Red Market: On the Trail of the World's Organ Brokers, Bone Thieves, Blood Farmers, and Child Traffickers|page=62|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ad0cHLTvzV4C&pg=PT62| publisher=Harper Collins |date=2011|isbn=9789350094389}}</ref> Using different research methods to Kilgour and Matas, Ethan Gutmann, adjunct fellow at the ], found that his estimate of the number of Falun Gong practitioners killed for organs of approximately 65,000 was close to the estimate of 62,250 by Kilgour and Matas.<ref name=gutmann/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://eastofethan.com/2009/04/30/how-many-harvested/#more-137|title=How many harvested?|author=Ethan Gutmann|date=28 April 2009|publisher=eastofethan.com|access-date=14 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021032626/http://eastofethan.com/2009/04/30/how-many-harvested/#more-137|archive-date=21 October 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=Review>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/sites/default/files/nordlinger_gutmann08-25-14.html|title=Face The Slaughter|author=Jay Nordlinger|date=25 August 2014 |publisher=]|author-link=Jay Nordlinger}}</ref><ref name=howmany>{{cite web|url=http://eastofethan.com/2011/03/10/how-many-harvested-revisited|title="How many harvested?" revisited|author=Ethan Gutmann|access-date=11 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111220031956/http://eastofethan.com/2011/03/10/how-many-harvested-revisited|archive-date=20 December 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Ethan Gutmann|url= http://www.jewishpolicycenter.org/2135/china-conundrum|title=The China Conundrum|publisher= Focus Quarterly|year= 2010}}</ref> In September 2014 he published his findings in ''The Slaughter: Mass Killings, Organ Harvesting, and China’s Secret Solution to Its Dissident Problem''.<ref name=Review/> Kirk C. Allison, associate director of the Program in Human Rights and Medicine in the ], wrote that the "short time frame of an on-demand system requires a large pool of donors pre-typed for blood group and HLA matching," and would be consistent with the Falun Gong allegations about the systematic tissue typing of practitioners held prisoner.<ref name=Allison>{{cite web|url=http://www.tc.umn.edu/~falun/document/all092906.pdf |title=Falun Gong, Organ Harvesting in China, and the Human Rights Case for an Independent Congressional Investigation – testimony submitted by Kirk C. Allison|author=Kirk C. Allison |date=29 September 2006 |work=Open Hearing of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations |access-date=4 February 2010 |publisher=University of Minnesota}}</ref> He wrote that the time constraints involved "cannot be assured on a random-death basis", and that physicians he queried about the matter indicated that they were selecting live prisoners to ensure quality and compatibility.<ref name=Allison/>
A ] 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></ref>


The US ] said they were "deeply concerned about recent allegations regarding the procurement of organs and tissues through coercive or exploitative practices" and that "any act which calls the ethical practice of donation and transplantation into question should be condemned by the worldwide transplantation community."<ref name="kidney.org"/> A 2008 petition signed by 140 Canadian physicians urged the Canadian Government to "issue travel advisories warning Canadians that organ transplants in China are sourced almost entirely from non-consenting people, whether prisoners sentenced to death or Falun Gong practitioners".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.david-kilgour.com/2008/Mar_12_2008_02.htm|title= The Medical Post, Canadian MD-activist likens Chinese organ trade to the Holocaust|publisher=david-kilgour.com|date=12 March 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.organharvestinvestigation.net/events/Fletcher_121307.pdf|title= Excerpt from Hansard of 13 December 2007, Canadian House of Commons|date=13 December 2007|publisher=organharvestinvestigation.net}}</ref> Canadian Member of Parliament Borys Wrzesnewskyj, based on the findings of the Kilgour–Matas report, introduced a 2008 bill that would make it illegal for Canadians to get an organ transplant abroad if the organ was taken from an unwilling victim.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.clearharmony.net/articles/200802/43361.html|title= The Epoch Times: One Member of Parliament's Crusade to Quell a Gruesome Trade|publisher=clearharmony.net}}</ref>{{unreliable source|certain=y|reason=Epoch Times is very much WP:DEPREC|date=August 2024}} In 2013, Doctors Against forced Organ Harvesting (DAFOH) presented a petition of nearly 1.5 million signatures including over 300,000 from Europe to the Office of UN High Commissioner on Human Rights in Geneva.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://globalbioethics.org/2013/12/dafoh_china_dec13/|title=Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting petition against Falun Gong {{sic|prac|tioners|nolink=y}}|date=16 December 2013|work=globalbioethics}}</ref>
David Ownby, a noted expert on Falun Gong, said "Organ harvesting is happening in China, but I see no evidence proving it is aimed particularly at Falun Gong practitioners."<ref name=radiocan>{{cite web| url=http://www.radio-canada.ca/apropos/lib/v3.1/pdf/revfalungongenglish.pdf |title=Review by the Ombudsman, French Services of Complaint filed by the Falun Dafa Association of Canada |date=January 27, 2009}}</ref> Glen McGregor of the'']'' said "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 said he was one of the few journalists who had not treated the report as fact, and that he had for this reason been compared to ]s by Matas and Kilgour. McGregor said that the allegation is "a substantial escalation that none of these groups have confirmed".<ref name=glen>Glen McGregor, , ], November 24, 2007</ref>


While Russia, along with China, banned the report;<ref name="news.nationalpost.com"/> Taiwan condemned, "in the strongest possible terms", China's harvesting of human organs from executed Falun Gong practitioners.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cipfg.org/en/index.php?news=422|title= China Post: Taiwan condemns China's organ harvesting|publisher=cipfg.org}}</ref> Taiwan's Department of Health, urged Taiwanese doctors to not encourage patients to get commercial organ transplants in mainland China.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cipfg.org/en/index.php?news=623|title= Taiwan: Director of Department of Health Orders Doctors in Taiwan Not to Get Involved with China's Inhumane Organ Transplantation|publisher=cipfg.org}}</ref> Rabbi ] prohibited Jews from deriving any benefit from Chinese organ harvesting, "even in life-threatening situations"; other rabbis opposed the use of Chinese organs for transplants.<ref>{{cite web|author=Mathew Wagner |url=http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?apage=1&cid=1180867542307&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929150928/http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?apage=1&cid=1180867542307&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull |url-status=dead |archive-date=29 September 2007 |title=Chinese TV airs Elyashiv's opposition to organ harvesting |work=] |date=3 June 2007 }}</ref>
The Christian Science Monitor said, "The report's evidence is circumstantial, but persuasive."<ref>The Monitor's View (August 3, 2006), ''The ]'', retrieved August 6, 2006</ref> In 2009, Kilgour and Matas published the report as a book, titled "Bloody Harvest."<ref>{{cite news|title=Chinese accused of vast trade in organs|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/apr/27/chinese-accused-of-vast-trade-in-organs/print/|newspaper=Washington Times}}</ref>


In 2006 and 2008, ]s raised questions about the sources of organs, the short waiting times for finding perfectly matched organs, and the correlation between the sudden increase in organ transplants in China and the beginning of the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. These requests were not satisfactorily addressed by the Chinese authorities.<ref name=marketwireun2>{{cite web |url=http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cat/docs/CAT.C.CHN.CO.4.pdf |title=United Nations Human Rights Special Rapporteurs Reiterate Findings on China's Organ Harvesting from Falun Gong Practitioners |publisher=Falun Gong Human Rights Working Group, through egovmonitor.com |access-date=20 November 2010 }}</ref> In November 2008 the ] noted its concern at the allegations and called for China to "immediately conduct or commission an independent investigation of the claims", and take measures "to ensure that those responsible for such abuses are prosecuted and punished".<ref name=UNCAT>{{cite web |url=http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cat/docs/CAT.C.CHN.CO.4.pdf |title=Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 19 of the Convention Concluding observations of the Committee against Torture, Forty-first session, Geneva |author=UN Committee Against Torture |author-link=UN Committee Against Torture |date=2008-11-21 |publisher=Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights |access-date=2016-04-21 }}</ref>
In 2009, Kilgour and Matas received the 2009 Human Rights Award by the German-based ],<ref name=Winnipeg>{{cite news|title=Winnipeg lawyer nominated for Nobel Peace Prize|url=http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/Winnipeg-lawyer-nominated-for-Nobel-Peace-Prize-84771137.html|newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press.}}</ref> and were nominated for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize for their research.<ref name=nomination>{{cite news|title=Ex-MP Kilgour, lawyer get Nobel nomination |url=http://www.edmontonjournal.com/life/Kilgour+lawyer+Nobel+nomination/2590256/story.html|newspaper=EDMONTON JOURNAL}}</ref><ref name=Winnipeg /> They were the subject of two separate nominations for the prize; one from Canadian federal MP ], and one from Balfour Hakak, chairman of the Hebrew Writers Association in Israel.<ref name=nomination />


In 2010, though the Chinese Medical Society had stated that organ transplants from executed prisoners must cease,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/84754.php|title=Chinese Medical Association Reaches Agreement With World Medical Association Against Transplantation Of {{sic|Pris|ioners's|nolink=y}} Organs|date=7 October 2007 |publisher=medicalnewstoday.com}}</ref> and changes in Chinese regulations prohibited transplant tourism,<ref>{{cite journal|author= C. Ding |title= Latest development of legal regulations of organ transplant in China|journal=J Int Bioethique|date= 2008|volume= 19|issue= 162|pages= 61–81|doi= 10.3917/jib.194.0061|pmid= 19492722}}</ref> a meeting of the Transplantation Society received over 30 papers containing data from several hundred transplants, where the donor source was likely executed prisoners.<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Use of Executed Prisoners as a Source of Organ Transplants in China Must Stop|author1=G.M. Danovitch |author2=M. E. Shapiro |author3=J. Lave |date=22 February 2011|journal=American Journal of Transplantation|doi=10.1111/j.1600-6143.2010.03417.x|pmid=21342444|volume=11|issue = 3|pages=426–428|s2cid=22711490|doi-access=free}}</ref>
===Impact on international transplant policies===


During the ] meeting held on 12 March 2014, Anne-Tamara Lorre, the Canadian representative on human rights to the United Nations, raised the issue of organ harvesting in China. "We remain concerned that Falun Gong practitioners and other religious worshippers in China face persecution, and reports that organ transplants take place without free and informed consent of the donor are troubling."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dafoh.org/international-reactions-on-the-european-parliaments-resolution-on-unethical-organ-harvesting-in-china/|title=The European Parliament's resolution on unethical organ harvesting in China is succeeded by a chain of international reactions|publisher=dafoh.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ohchr.org/sp/newsevents/pages/displaynews.aspx?newsid=14360&langid=e|author=Human Rights Council|title=Council reviews reports on the use of drones in the fight against terrorism, and on freedom of religion|date=12 March 2014|publisher=ohchr.org}}</ref>
On August 14, 2006, a statement from the US National Kidney Foundation (NKF), referring to the Kilgour Matas Reports, stated that the foundation "is deeply concerned about recent allegations regarding the procurement of organs and tissues through coercive or or exploitative practices" and that "any act which calls the ethical practice of donation and transplantation into question should be condemned by the worldwide transplantation community." The statement from NKF also condemned organ transplant tourism in general. <ref> National Kidney Foundation, August 14, 2006, retrieved 2006-08-18</ref><ref>, New York, August 15th</ref>


==See also==
In December 2006, the Australian Health Ministry announced the abolition of training programs for Chinese doctors in organ transplant procedures in the Prince Charles and the Princess Alexandra Hospitals and the banning of joint research programs with China on organ transplantation. <ref>{{cite news
* ]
|url=http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,20876865-1702,00.html?from=public_rss
* ], ] winner documentary
|title=Hospitals ban training Chinese surgeons
* ]
|author=]
|date=] ]
|publisher=]}}</ref>.


== References ==
The Medical Post, on March 11, 2008, reported that a petition signed by 140 Canadian Physicians "urging the Canadian Government to issue travel advisories warning Canadians that organ transplants in China are sourced almost entirely from non-consenting people, whether prisoners sentenced to death or Falun Gong practitioners", was submitted to the Canadian House of Commons.<ref></ref><ref></ref> In February 2008, Canadian Member of Parliament Borys Wrzesnewskyj introduced a bill that would make it illegal for Canadians to get an organ transplant abroad if the organ was taken from an unwilling victim. Wrzesnewskyj states that the final impetus to introduce the bill was the findings of the Kilgour-Matas report.<ref></ref>.
{{Reflist|30em}}


== Bibliography ==
In early 2007, Israeli health insurance carriers stopped sending patients to China for transplants.<ref></ref> This was in part related to an investigation in which Israeli authorities arrested several men for tax evasion in connection with a company that mediated transplants of Chinese prisoners’ organs for Israelis. One of the men had stated in an undercover interview that the organs came from “people who oppose the regime, those sentenced to death and from prisoners of the Falun Gong.”<ref></ref>
*Gutmann, Ethan, " {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115210040/http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/824qbcjr.asp |date=15 January 2021 }}", 24 November 2008, '']''
*Kilgour, David & Matas, David, '''', 6 July 2006, organharvestinvestigation.net
*Kilgour, David & Matas, David, '''', 31 January 2007, organharvestinvestigation.net
*Matas, David & Trey, Torsten, '''', 2012, Seraphim Edition
*Pan, Philip & Pomfret, John, '''', 5 August 2000, ]
*Spiegel, Mickey, '''', January 2002, ]
*Treasure, Tom, '''', March 2007, ]


==External links==
Rabbi ] prohibited Jews from deriving any benefit from Chinese organ harvesting, "even in life-threatening situations". Other ]s oppose the use of Chinese organs for transplants.<ref>Mathew Wagner, , ], Jun 3, 2007</ref>
*
In October 2006, the Chairman of the Taiwan Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), Joseph Wu, stated that Taiwan condemned, "in the strongest possible terms", China's harvesting of human organs from executed Falun Gong practitioners.<ref></ref> In August 2007, a statement from Hou Sheng-mao, Director of Taiwan's Department of Health, urged Taiwanese Doctors to not encourage patients to get commercial organ transplants in mainland China.<ref></ref>
*


{{Falun Gong}}
===Response of Chinese authorities===
The Chinese Embassy in Canada replied to the first version of the Kilgour-Matas report immediately upon its release on July 6, stating that China abided by ] principles that prohibit the sale of human organs without written consent from donors. The authors were accused of wanting to smear China's image. "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.


{{good article}}
Amnesty International, responding to statements from the Chinese government, stated:
<blockquote>
Amnesty International has noted the response of the Chinese authorities to the Canadian report, which states among other things that China has 'consistently abided by the relevant guiding principles of the World Health Organization endorsed in 1991, prohibiting the sale of human organs and stipulating that donors' written consent must be obtained beforehand'. Amnesty International considers this statement to be at odds with the facts in view of the widely documented practice of the buying and selling of organs of death penalty prisoners in China.<ref name="Falun Gong Persecution Factsheet"></ref>
</blockquote>


{{DEFAULTSORT:Kilgour-Matas report}}
The January, 2007 revision of the Kilgour-Matas reports state that the Chinese government claim of having "consistently abided" by the relevant World Health Organization principles is unsubstantiated by facts. They note that the Chinese Transplantation Network Assistance Centre Website until April, 2006 carried a price list for transplants, archived version of which are still available online<ref></ref> and also that many individuals can attest to paying for organ transplants in China. They state that the Chinese government's claim of written consent being obtained beforehand is also belied by the facts. They note Human Rights Watch documenting that consent is obtained from executed prisoners in only a minority of cases and that "''the abusive circumstances of detention and incarceration in China, from the time a person is first accused of a capital offense until the moment of his or her execution, are such as to render absurd any notion of "free and voluntary consent."''"<ref name=KMRR></ref>
]

]
Matas told the United States Committee on International Relations that he and Kilgour are reinforced in their conclusions by "the feeble response of the Government of China." He says that despite their resources and inside knowledge, they have not provided any information to counter the report. "Instead," he said, "they have attacked us personally and, more worrisome, attacked the Falun Gong with the very sort of verbal abuse which we have identified as one of the reasons we believe these atrocities are occurring."<ref>, Hearing before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation of the Committee on International Relations, House of Representatives, One hundred ninth congress, second session, 29/10/06</ref>
]

]
David Matas says that he and Kilgour find it hard to 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 ].<ref name=matasbris>David Matas, , September 12th, 2007, Freechina.org, accessed 14/3/08</ref> "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 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."<ref name=matasbris/>
]

==Other reports==

Ethan Gutmann, adjunct fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, calculates that the number of practitioners killed for organs could be as high as 162,000, with 13,500 being the low-end estimate, and 87,750 being the median.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/19732/|title=UK MPs Briefed on Persecution in China|last=Gibson|first=Jaya|publisher=The Epoch Times|accessdate=27 April 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=GUTMANN|first=ETHAN |title=China's Gruesome Organ Harvest.|publisher=The Weekly Standard|url=http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/824qbcjr.asp}}</ref>
In July 2006, Dr. Kirk C. Allison, Associate Director of the Program in Human Rights and Medicine in the University of Minnesota, released a statement on a forum held at the World Transplant Congress in Boston, reinforcing the findings of the Kilgour-Matas report and calling for academia and medical circles stop cooperation with China on organ transplantation.<ref>, ''The Epoch Times'', August 7, 2006</ref> <ref></ref> Kilgour and Matas noted that Dr. Allison had arrived independently at the same conclusion as theirs, shortly before their initial reports were released.<ref name=KMRR/>

Professor Tom Treasure of Guy's Hospital, London, in a March 2007 article entitled "The Falun Gong, organ transplantation, the holocaust and ourselves," published in the ''Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine'', confirms the plausibility, from a medical standpoint, of the allegations.<ref>Tom Treasure, "The Falun Gong, organ transplantation, the holocaust and ourselves," JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF MEDICINE Volume 100 March 2007 J R Soc Med 2007;100:119–121</ref>

In May 2008 two ] Special Rapporteurs reiterated their previous request for the Chinese authorities to adequately respond to the allegations of organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners.<ref name=marketwireun2>, May 9, 2008, accessed 9/3/09</ref> They also asked the authorities to explain the source of organs for the sudden increase in organ transplants in China since 2000. The request was a follow-up to previous communication on August 11, 2006, made with ], UN Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons. In 2006 the three Special Rapporteurs drew on information submitted by individuals and volunteer groups, including FalunHR, raising questions about the identifiable sources of organs, the short waiting times for finding perfectly-matched organs, and the correlation between the sudden increase in organ transplants in China and the beginning of the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. In 2006 Chinese authorities responded only with categorical denials, and failed to address the critical issues raised by the Special Rapporteurs, according to a syndicated MarketWire report.<ref name=marketwireun2/> The follow-up communication by Ms. Jahangir and Mr. Nowak, sent on January 25, 2007, also called on the authorities to address the issues. In November 2008, the United Nations Committee Against Torture made a strong statement on the matter. The Committee, citing the UN special Rapporteur's note that the increase in organ transplant operations coincides with “the beginning of the persecution of ”, stated that it is concerned with the information that Falun Gong practitioners "have been extensively subjected to torture and ill-treatment in prisons and that some of them have been used for organ transplants." The Committee called for the state to immediately conduct or commission an independent investigation of the claims of organ harvesting, and take measures to ensure that those responsible for such abuses are prosecuted and punished.<ref name=UNCAT/>

Another investigation was independently undertaken by European Parliament Vice President ] who went to China on a fact finding mission during May 2006. He interviewed two witnesses: Cao Dong and Niu Jinping, one of whom, Cao Dong, said he knew of organ harvesting camps, and he had seen the cadaver of one of his friends, a Falun Gong practitioner, with holes in his body where the organs had been removed." Shortly following his meeting with McMillan Scott, Cao Dong was arrested. The authorities transferred him to Gansu province and issued an arrest warrant. He was prosecuted in December on four alleged charges. The judges ruled that the case could not go to trial because the case fell within the jurisdiction of the 610 Office in Beijing .<ref name=KMRR/>

== References ==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*
*
* by Ethan Gutmann, Adjunct Fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. Cover Story in ].
* by China democracy activist, John Kusumi.
{{Falun Gong}}

Latest revision as of 00:23, 27 September 2024

Report on forced organ harvesting in China

David Kilgour, former Canadian Secretary of State (Asia-Pacific), investigated the state-sanctioned forced organ harvesting in China.

The Kilgour–Matas report is a 2006/2007 investigative report into allegations of live organ harvesting in China conducted by Canadian MP David Kilgour and human rights lawyer David Matas. The report was requested by the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (CIPFG) after allegations emerged that Falun Gong practitioners were secretly having their organs removed against their will at Sujiatun Thrombosis Hospital. The report, based on circumstantial evidence, concluded that "there has been, and continues today to be, large-scale organ seizures from unwilling Falun Gong practitioners." China has consistently denied the allegations.

The initial 6 July 2006 report found that, "the source of 41,500 transplants for the six-year period 2000 to 2005 is unexplained" and concluded that "there has been and continues today to be large scale organ seizures from unwilling Falun Gong practitioners." U.N. special rapporteur Manfred Nowak said in March 2007 that the chain of evidence Kilgour and Matas were documenting showed a "coherent picture that causes concern", which the United Nations Committee Against Torture followed up in November 2008 with a request for "a full explanation of the source of organ transplants", to investigate the claims of organ harvesting, and to take measures to prosecute those committing abuses. Other investigators, such as Ethan Gutmann, followed the Kilgour–Matas report; Gutmann estimating that between 450,000 and 1 million Falun Gong members were detained at any given time, and estimated that tens of thousands may have been targeted for organ harvesting.

Upon release of the initial report on 6 July 2006, Chinese officials declared that China abides by World Health Organization principles that prohibit the sale of human organs without written consent from donors. They denounced the report as smears "based on rumours and false allegations", and said the Chinese government had already investigated the claims and found them without any merit. The report is banned in Russia and China. Among international concerns, the US National Kidney Foundation expressed that it was "deeply concerned" about the allegations.

In 2009, the authors published an updated version of the report as a book, titled Bloody Harvest, The killing of Falun Gong for their organs, and in the same year received an award from the International Society for Human Rights.

Background

Falun Gong

See also: History of Falun Gong

Falun Gong is a spiritual discipline that combines meditation and exercises with a moral philosophy, emerged in China in the 1990s; by 1999 the number of practitioners was estimated in the tens of millions.

In July 1999, following a large-scale demonstration to request official recognition, Chinese authorities initiated a nationwide campaign to suppress the group, and created the 610 Office to oversee and coordinate the elimination of Falun Gong. The suppression that followed was accompanied by what Amnesty International called a "massive propaganda campaign", as well as the detention and imprisonment of tens of thousands of Falun Gong adherents. Former detainees reported that in some labour camps, Falun Gong practitioners comprised the majority population, and were singled out for abuse. Under order from Beijing, practitioners are subject to coercive "reeducation" and torture, sometimes resulting in deaths. Due to limited access to victims and labour camp facilities, however, many specific reports of abuses are difficult to independently corroborate.

Organ transplantation in China

Main article: Organ transplantation in China

China has had an organ transplantation programme since the 1960s. It is one of the largest organ transplant programmes in the world, peaking at over 13,000 transplants a year in 2004. Involuntary organ harvesting is illegal under Chinese law, although under a 1984 regulation it became legal to remove organs from executed criminals with the prior consent of the criminal or permission of relatives. By the 1990s, growing concerns about possible ethical abuses arising from coerced consent and corruption led medical groups and human rights organizations to start condemning the practice. These concerns resurfaced in 2001, when The Washington Post reported claims by a Chinese asylum-seeking doctor that he had taken part in organ extraction operations.

By 2005 the World Medical Association had specifically demanded that China cease using prisoners as organ donors. In December of that year, China's Deputy Health Minister acknowledged that the practice of removing organs from executed prisoners for transplant was widespread – as many as 95% of all organ transplants in China derived from executions, and he promised steps to prevent abuse.

Sujiatun

The first allegations of systematic organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners were made in March 2006 by two individuals claiming to possess knowledge of involuntary organ extractions at the Sujiatun Thrombosis Hospital in Shenyang, Liaoning province. Within one month of press coverage, third party investigators, including representatives of the US Department of State, said that there was insufficient evidence to prove the allegations. In 2006 and 2008, United Nations Special Rapporteurs raised questions about the sources of organs, the short waiting times for finding perfectly matched organs, and the correlation between the sudden increase in organ transplants in China and the beginning of the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. These requests were not satisfactorily addressed by the Chinese authorities. In November 2008 the United Nations Committee Against Torture noted its concern at the allegations and called for China to "immediately conduct or commission an independent investigation of the claims", and take measures "to ensure that those responsible for such abuses are prosecuted and punished". Chinese dissident Harry Wu, who exposed organ harvesting from prison inmates at laogai (hard labour camps), questioned the credibility of the Sujiatun whistle-blowers. But Harry Wu's July 2006 article showed his views in his 21 March letter were formed before completing his investigation, and were not based on his full investigation. Further, Harry Wu characterized the volume of organ harvesting described by the pseudonymous informant "Annie" as "technically impossible", but in fact it is technically possible, according to the Matas/Kilgour report. On 14 April 2006, the US state department wrote that "U.S. representatives have found no evidence to support allegations that a site in northeast China has been used as a concentration camp to jail Falun Gong practitioners and harvest their organs", adding "independent of these specific allegations, the United States remains concerned over China’s repression of Falun Gong practitioners and by reports of organ harvesting."

Soon thereafter, in May 2006, The Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong asked David Kilgour as well as Canadian human rights lawyer David Matas to investigate the broader allegations of organ harvesting from Falun Gong adherents in China. Kilgour and Matas agreed to investigate.

The report

First report

On 20 July 2006, Kilgour and Matas presented the findings of their two-month investigation as Report into Allegations of Organ Harvesting of Falun Gong Practitioners in China. The report presented 33 strands of circumstantial evidence that Kilgour and Matas felt, in the absence of any disproof, cumulatively allowed the conclusion 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". The report called attention to the extremely short wait times for organs in China – one to two weeks for a liver compared with 32.5 months in Canada – noting that this was indicative of organs being procured on demand. It also tracked a significant increase in the number of annual organ transplants in China beginning in 1999, corresponding with the onset of the persecution of Falun Gong. Despite very low levels of voluntary organ donation, China performs the second-highest number of transplants per year. Kilgour and Matas also presented material from Chinese transplant center web sites advertising the immediate availability of organs from living donors, and transcripts of telephone interviews in which hospitals told prospective transplant recipients that they could obtain Falun Gong organs. The authors qualified their findings by noting the difficulties in verifying the alleged crimes, such as: independent bodies were not allowed to investigate conditions in China, eyewitness evidence was difficult to obtain, official information about organ transplantation was often withheld, and Kilgour and Matas themselves were denied visas to go to China to investigate.

Second report

In a January 2007 revision, Bloody Harvest: Revised Report into Allegations of Organ Harvesting of Falun Gong Practitioners in China, Kilgour and Matas felt that the Government of China had reinforced the basis of the first report by responding to it in an unpersuasive way, mostly as attacks on Falun Gong. Kilgour and Matas believed such attacks made possible the violation of the basic human rights of Falun Gong practitioners. China identified two factual errors in the first version of the report – one in an appendix, in a caption heading, where Kilgour and Matas placed two Chinese cities in the wrong provinces; the authors dismissed those errors as having nothing to do with the analysis or conclusions of their report. In the absence of evidence that would invalidate the organ harvesting allegations – such as a Chinese government registry showing the identity of every organ donor and their donation – Kilgour and Matas concluded that the allegations of China's harvesting organs from live Falun Gong practitioners were true and the practice was ongoing. They called for a ban on Canadian citizens traveling to China for transplant operations.

As of November 2014 the report has been translated into 21 languages.

Books

In 2009, Kilgour and Matas published an updated version of the report as a book, titled Bloody Harvest, The killing of Falun Gong for their organs. It contains new material and interviews, and is in two parts. The first section sets out the evidence; the second section details the reactions the final report received and the advocacy Matas and Kilgour undertook to end the abuse that they conclusively identified. That year, Kilgour and Matas also received the 2009 Human Rights Award by the German-based International Society for Human Rights; and were nominated for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize.

In 2012, State Organs: Transplant Abuse in China, edited by David Matas and Torsten Trey was published with contributions from a dozen specialists.

Response

The report's allegations of involuntary organ removal from Falun Gong adherents received considerable media coverage, particularly in Canada, Europe, and Australia. Several governments tightened transplant tourism practices and requested more information from the Chinese government. Chinese officials repeatedly denied the report's organ harvesting allegations. Upon release of the initial report, China declared they abided by World Health Organization principles that prohibit the sale of human organs without written consent from donors and denounced the report.

Amnesty International in 2006 said it was "continuing to analyze sources of information" about the allegations. David Ownby, a professor of history at the University of Montreal and expert on Falun Gong, wrote in Falun Gong and the Future of China that Falun Gong practitioners were probable candidates for organ harvesting in Chinese prisons. However, he felt that Falun Gong spokespersons "overplayed their hand" with the concentration camp allegations, potentially losing credibility in the eyes of neutral observers, despite the real persecution they were suffering. A Congressional Research Service report by Thomas Lum said that the report relies on logical inferences and telephone call transcripts which, he suggested, may not be credible. Glen McGregor of the Ottawa Citizen was skeptical about the logistical plausibility of the allegations after visiting Sujiatun at the invitation of the Chinese Medical Association. He said that, depending on whom 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".

Some observers found the report and its figures plausible. Tom Treasure of Guy's Hospital, London, said the Kilgour–Matas report was "plausible from a medical standpoint" based on the numerical gap in the number of transplants and the short waiting times in China compared with other countries. He noted the existence of blood tests of imprisoned Falun Gong followers, which is not useful for the victims but is critical to organ donation, and said the allegations were "credible". Non-fiction writer Scott Carney included the allegations in his book The Red Market, writing "No one is saying the Chinese government went after the Falun Gong specifically for their organs... but it seems to have been a remarkably convenient and profitable way to dispose of them. Dangerous political dissidents were executed while their organs created a comfortable revenue stream for hospitals and surgeons, and presumably many important Chinese officials received organs." Using different research methods to Kilgour and Matas, Ethan Gutmann, adjunct fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, found that his estimate of the number of Falun Gong practitioners killed for organs of approximately 65,000 was close to the estimate of 62,250 by Kilgour and Matas. In September 2014 he published his findings in The Slaughter: Mass Killings, Organ Harvesting, and China’s Secret Solution to Its Dissident Problem. Kirk C. Allison, associate director of the Program in Human Rights and Medicine in the University of Minnesota, wrote that the "short time frame of an on-demand system requires a large pool of donors pre-typed for blood group and HLA matching," and would be consistent with the Falun Gong allegations about the systematic tissue typing of practitioners held prisoner. He wrote that the time constraints involved "cannot be assured on a random-death basis", and that physicians he queried about the matter indicated that they were selecting live prisoners to ensure quality and compatibility.

The US National Kidney Foundation said they were "deeply concerned about recent allegations regarding the procurement of organs and tissues through coercive or exploitative practices" and that "any act which calls the ethical practice of donation and transplantation into question should be condemned by the worldwide transplantation community." A 2008 petition signed by 140 Canadian physicians urged the Canadian Government to "issue travel advisories warning Canadians that organ transplants in China are sourced almost entirely from non-consenting people, whether prisoners sentenced to death or Falun Gong practitioners". Canadian Member of Parliament Borys Wrzesnewskyj, based on the findings of the Kilgour–Matas report, introduced a 2008 bill that would make it illegal for Canadians to get an organ transplant abroad if the organ was taken from an unwilling victim. In 2013, Doctors Against forced Organ Harvesting (DAFOH) presented a petition of nearly 1.5 million signatures including over 300,000 from Europe to the Office of UN High Commissioner on Human Rights in Geneva.

While Russia, along with China, banned the report; Taiwan condemned, "in the strongest possible terms", China's harvesting of human organs from executed Falun Gong practitioners. Taiwan's Department of Health, urged Taiwanese doctors to not encourage patients to get commercial organ transplants in mainland China. Rabbi Yosef Shalom Eliashiv prohibited Jews from deriving any benefit from Chinese organ harvesting, "even in life-threatening situations"; other rabbis opposed the use of Chinese organs for transplants.

In 2006 and 2008, United Nations Special Rapporteurs raised questions about the sources of organs, the short waiting times for finding perfectly matched organs, and the correlation between the sudden increase in organ transplants in China and the beginning of the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. These requests were not satisfactorily addressed by the Chinese authorities. In November 2008 the United Nations Committee Against Torture noted its concern at the allegations and called for China to "immediately conduct or commission an independent investigation of the claims", and take measures "to ensure that those responsible for such abuses are prosecuted and punished".

In 2010, though the Chinese Medical Society had stated that organ transplants from executed prisoners must cease, and changes in Chinese regulations prohibited transplant tourism, a meeting of the Transplantation Society received over 30 papers containing data from several hundred transplants, where the donor source was likely executed prisoners.

During the U.N. Human Rights Council meeting held on 12 March 2014, Anne-Tamara Lorre, the Canadian representative on human rights to the United Nations, raised the issue of organ harvesting in China. "We remain concerned that Falun Gong practitioners and other religious worshippers in China face persecution, and reports that organ transplants take place without free and informed consent of the donor are troubling."

See also

References

  1. ^ David Kilgour; David Matas (31 January 2007). "BLOODY HARVEST: Revised Report into Allegations of Organ Harvesting of Falun Gong Practitioners in China". organharvestinginvestigation.net. Archived from the original on 7 June 2007.
  2. ^ David Kilgour; David Matas. "The First Report into Allegations of Organ Harvesting of Falun Gong Practitioners in China". Retrieved 27 April 2010.
  3. ^ CTV.ca News Staff (6 July 2006) "Chinese embassy denies organ harvesting report", CTV.ca. Retrieved 8 July 2006.
  4. ^ Canadian Press (7 July 2006) "Report claims China kills prisoners to harvest organs for transplant", canada.com. Retrieved 8 July 2006.
  5. "An Interview with U.N. Special Rapporteur on Organ Harvesting in China". David-kilgour.com. 12 March 2007. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
  6. ^ UN Committee Against Torture (21 November 2008). "Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 19 of the Convention Concluding observations of the Committee against Torture, Forty-first session, Geneva" (PDF). Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
  7. ^ Ethan Gutmann. "China's Gruesome Organ Harvest. The whole world isn't watching. Why not?". Weekly Standard. Archived from the original on 24 May 2012. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
  8. Julia Duin (27 April 2010). "Chinese accused of vast trade in organs". The Washington Times.
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  12. ^ National Kidney Foundation Statement about Alleged Human Rights Violations in Organ Donation National Kidney Foundation, 14 August 2006. Retrieved 18 August 2006
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  43. Kirstin Endemann, CanWest News Service; Ottawa Citizen (6 July 2006)"Ottawa urged to stop Canadians travelling to China for transplants" Archived 17 October 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Canada.com. Retrieved 6 July 2006
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  45. Calgary Herald (5 July 2006)"Rights concerns bedevil China—Doing trade with regime must be balanced with values" Archived 13 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Canada.com. Retrieved 8 July 2006
  46. Aldo Santin (20 February 2010). "Crusader up for Nobel Prize Lawyer lauded for investigating abuses in China". Winnipeg Free Press.
  47. David Matas and Torsten Trey (2012). "State Organs, Transplant Abuse in China". seraphimeditions.com. Archived from the original on 24 February 2015.
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