(Minghui.org) An international meeting focusing on China's live organ harvesting of prisoners of conscience was held at the European Parliament on the afternoon of September 16, 2015. The meeting took place immediately after the conclusion of the 17th Congress of the European Society for Organ Transplantation, held in Brussels from September 13 to 16, 2015.
The conference was initiated by Louis Michel, Member of the European Parliament (MEP) and senior member of the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe. Representatives from Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting (DAFOH) and the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG), as well as Canadian human rights attorney David Matas presented at the meeting. They shared their investigations into China's organ harvesting crimes and called on the international community to take action to stop this crime against humanity.
An international meeting on China's live organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience held in the European Parliament on the afternoon of September 16, 2015.Bénédicte Van den Berg, accredited assistant for MEP Louis Michel.
Bénédicte Van den Berg, accredited assistant for MEP Michel, gave a speech on behalf of Mr. Michel. She asserted the continuous attention of the European Parliament on the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) forced live organ harvesting of prisoners of conscience, siting the European Parliament resolution initiated by MEP Michel and more than 50 other MEPs requesting the European Union to initiate an investigation and bring the perpetrators of forced organ harvesting to justice.
Canadian human rights attorney David Matas
Canadian human rights David Matas said that the European Union should execute the resolution passed in 2013 by initiating an independent investigation into the CCP's live organ harvesting. He added that the European Parliament should establish a special investigation committee specifically for this issue. He called on bringing the perpetrators of the CCP's live organ harvesting to justice.
Silvio Verbeek of the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG)
Silvio Verbeek of the WOIPFG introduced the organization's investigative work since 2006. WOIPFG found that 865 hospitals and over 9,500 doctors in China were involved in the live organ harvesting and organ transplantation.
Based on the published data and their own investigation, it was found that China quickly became the second largest organ transplant country in the world after the CCP initiated the persecution of Falun Gong in 1999. With millions of imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners, there was an ample live organ supply, making organs available within a very short time. The investigation also found that Jiang Zemin, former head of the CCP, gave direct orders for the live organ harvesting.
Mr. Verbeek also stated that more than 160,000 Falun Gong practitioners and family members have recently filed criminal complaints against Jiang for his abuse of power in orchestrating the persecution of Falun Gong in China.
Representative Harold King of Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting
Harold King of DAFOH said that the CCP's live organ harvesting was still ongoing, even though the CCP has denied it. Beijing made some promises under international pressure, but they are inconsistent and not credible, said Dr. King. He hopes that the international community will take action to stop the CCP's crime against humanity.