(Minghui.org) The National Federation of Republican Assemblies (NFRA) passed a resolution on October 9, 2021, condemning the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for harvesting organs from non-consenting Falun Gong practitioners in China.
The resolution, passed during the NFRA’s bi-annual convention in Scottsdale, Arizona, urged the CCP to immediately stop the persecution of Falun Gong that has been going on for 22 years.
The resolution further called on the U.S. Congress and states to pass legislation to combat the horrific crime of forced organ harvesting and help stop the persecution. It also urged the U.S. State Department to stop issuing visas to those involved in the organ harvesting crimes.
Resolution Sponsor: “Holding the Communist Party of China Accountable for the Atrocities”
Mr. Norman Reece
The resolution was submitted by Mr. Norman Reece, president of the Solano Republican Assembly of Solano County, California. He had previously introduced a similar resolution at the California Republican Assembly in 2018 and saw it passed unanimously.
Mr. Reece wrote a letter to the Solano County news outlet Daily Republic after the passing of the resolution in 2018: “It’s an issue which I trust will motivate the general public and our elected officials to action once they become aware of this inhumane and deplorable treatment of the citizens of China.
“I trust as you get informed about this and similar issues, you will join with others in opposing such atrocities, seek and vote for leaders who take a stand against this evil, and pray for revival in our land and throughout the world.”
With the same motivation, Mr. Reece proposed the resolution again at this year’s NFRA convention, hoping to draw more attention to the atrocities taking place in China. He said in an interview with The Epoch Times that he believes “it’s important to continue holding the Communist Party of China accountable for the atrocities that they’re doing. This is one of the worst [religious persecutions].”
Mr. Reece also told a Minghui correspondent that many of the delegates, who hail from 23 states, thanked him for proposing the resolution and he was glad to see the attention it’s getting.
“I just keep praying the message to get out and people get serious by how terrible the organ harvesting is.” He added that it’s a “pleasure to be able to do the right thing. You should stand against evil, but it takes commitment and courage.” He thanked Falun Gong practitioners for their persistent efforts in raising awareness about the persecution and standing up against the CCP.
Mr. Reece said that many people have noted that the major media outlets rarely report on the topic of organ harvesting, either because they were threatened or they receive funding from the CCP.
He hopes that grassroots movements like the NFRA can play a bigger role in awakening the public and helping stop the persecution. He noted that it’s a “now or never” moment for the U.S., and urged more people to step up to take action and stop being bystanders.
Below is the full text of the resolution.
National Federation of Republican Assemblies Resolution
Resolution to stop the People’s Republic of China’s religious persecution and organ harvesting of prisoners.
Whereas voluntary and informed consent is the precondition for ethical organ donation and international medical organizations state that prisoners, deprived of their freedom, are not in the position to give free consent and that the practice of sourcing organs from prisoners is a violation of ethical guidelines in medicine;
Whereas the Government of the People’s Republic of China and Communist Party of China continue to deny reports that many organs are taken without the consent of prisoners yet at the same time prevents independent verification of its transplant system;
Whereas the organ transplantation system in China does not comply with the World Health Organization’s requirement of transparency and traceability in organ procurement pathways;
Whereas the United States Department of State Country Report on Human Rights for China for 2014 stated, “Advocacy groups continued to report instances of organ harvesting from prisoners”;
Whereas Falun Gong, a spiritual practice involving meditative “qigong” exercises and centered on the values of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance, became immensely popular in the 1990s;
Whereas in July 1999, the Chinese Communist Party launched an intensive, nationwide persecution designed to eradicate the spiritual practice of Falun Gong, reflecting the party’s long-standing intolerance of large independent civil society groups;
Whereas since 1999, hundreds of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners have been detained extra-legally in reeducation-through-labor camps, detention centers, and prisons, where torture and abuse are routine;
Whereas Freedom House reported in 2015 that Falun Gong practitioners comprise the largest portion of prisoners of conscience in China, and face an elevated risk of dying or being killed in custody;
Whereas the United Nations Committee Against Torture and the Special Rapporteur on Torture have expressed concern over the allegations of organ harvesting from Falun Gong prisoners, and have called on the Government of the People’s Republic of China to increase accountability and transparency in the organ transplant system and punish those responsible for abuses; and
Whereas the killing of religious or political prisoners for the purpose of selling their organs for transplant is an egregious and intolerable violation of the fundamental right to life: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the National Federation of Republican Assemblies calls on the Congress of the United States as well as the Legislatures of the individual States to pass legislation that:
(1) condemns the practice of state-sanctioned forced organ harvesting in the People’s Republic of China;
(2) calls on the Government of the People’s Republic of China and Communist Party of China to immediately end the practice of organ harvesting from all prisoners of conscience;
(3) demands an immediate end to the 22-year persecution of the Falun Gong spiritual practice by the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Communist Party of China, and the immediate release of all Falun Gong practitioners and other prisoners of conscience;
(4) calls on the People’s Republic of China to allow a credible, transparent, and independent investigation into organ transplant abuses; and
(5) calls on the United States Department of State to conduct a more detailed analysis on state-sanctioned organ harvesting from non-consenting prisoners of conscience in the annual Human Rights Report, and report annually to Congress on the implementation of section 232 of the Department of State Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2003 (8 U.S.C. 1182f), barring provision of visas to Chinese and other nationals engaged in coerced organ or bodily tissue transplantation.
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