(Minghui.org) A public hearing was held in the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic on Tuesday April 23, 2024, concerning a proposition to ban transplant tourism to China.
The hearing was organized by the Petition Committee at the appeal of more than 50,000 Czech citizens who signed the petition titled “Putting an end to the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners by the Chinese regime.”
The signatories of the petition demanded that constitutional officials and state authorities work to protect the lives of persecuted Falun Gong [also known as Falun Dafa] practitioners in China by passing a law to ban Czech citizens from traveling to China for organ transplants. Falun Gong practitioners are the prime source of organs in the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) forced organ harvesting operations, where prisoners of conscience are killed on demand and have their organs sold for profit.
The hearing was chaired by Tomio Okamura MP (SPD), and the rapporteur of the petition was his brother Hayato Okamura (KDU-CSL). Representatives of three ministries, namely Foreign Affairs, Health, and Justice, also attended the hearing.
Human Rights Experts and Practitioners Expose the CCP’s Organ Harvesting
Several speakers offered comments on behalf of the practitioners, explaining different aspects of the persecution of Falun Gong and how it impacts people both inside and outside of China.
Leoš Strnad, a representative from the Czech Falun Dafa Association, said that people should remember the Holocaust, and should not ignore the genocide being perpetrated against Falun Gong practitioners. In his remarks, he urged the representatives to take legislative action.
“At this moment there is in the People’s Republic of China, genocide of people who are adherents of the spiritual practice Falun Gong. This is being carried out deliberately by the communist regime there. The testimonies are horrifying and the evil depicted unimaginable. The European Parliament, the US House of Representatives, and the Czech Senate have all condemned these crimes. Yet most of the world is making the same decision as their predecessors did during World War II—namely, to ignore the problem,” he said.
Harold King speaks at the hearing and urges the lawmakers to take action against this horrendous crime -- namely persecution.
Harold King BDS Msc, deputy director of DAFOH (Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting), flew from France to attend the public hearing. He echoed Strnad’s sentiment. “We are living in a time when genocide is happening. It is happening now, and we will wait until it is over and then we will say, ‘Oh yes. I think this is contrary to the meaning and prevention of genocide,’” he said.
Two practitioners also shared their own experiences with the representatives at the hearing.
Ding Lebin from Germany showed the banner reading, “Falun Dafa is good.”
Ding Lebin from Germany asked the MEPs present to help free his father, who is imprisoned in China for practicing Falun Gong.
“My mother was for the first time persecuted in 2000 because she held a ‘Falun Dafa is good’ banner at Tiananmen Square in Beijing,” Ding said in his speech while displaying the yellow banner in front of the audience.
Ms. Li Hui, who lives in the United Kingdom, also attended the hearing. She gave evidence about her mother’s experience in China, who was imprisoned by the Chinese communist regime for practicing Falun Gong.
Lawmakers Respond to Hearing
Mr. Václav Pláteník, Deputy Minister of Health, said the ministry is aware of the charges and their seriousness. after the meeting, he posted a post on his X account saying that the “Ministry of Health warns against transplant tourism to China. Besides the health risk, you can get an organ forcibly taken from a prisoner.”
MP Nina Novakova takes a photo with Ding Lebin in support of his cause.
The petition’s rapporteur, Mr. Hayato Okamura, proposed an additional point in the resolution, which reads, “The Petition Committee calls on the constitutional officials and state authorities of the Czech Republic to show continued concern and sensitivity to the oppressed Falun Gong followers in contemporary China and to seek ways to support them.”
In the end, the petition committee agreed on the following wording of the resolution: “The Committee recommends that the state authorities of the Czech Republic pay continued attention to the fate of the oppressed Falun Gong adherents in contemporary China.”
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