Falun Gong: 'Overwhelming evidence' of organ harvesting 

Kamloops Daily News (British Columbia) 

August 10, 2006 Thursday
Final Edition 

SECTION: NEWS; Pg. A4 

LENGTH: 455 words 



BYLINE: Melissa Lampman, The Daily News 

BODY: 


The SOS National Car Tour arrived at City Hall Wednesday to raise awareness 
and urge Canadian governments to help stop the alleged organ harvesting of 
Falun Gong practitioners. 

"We are here to urge every Canadian resident to condemn horrific organ 
harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners in China and help stop the 
persecution and mass killing of Falun Gong practitioners," said Car Tour 
member April Zhu. 

A recently released report showing evidence of organ harvesting in China 
should initiate action from the Canadian government, she said. 

"An independent report by the Hon. David Kilgour, former secretary of state 
for Asia Pacific, and Mr. David Matas, renowned international human rights 
lawyer, was released on July 6," Zhu said. 

"(The report) shows overwhelming evidence of organ harvesting of Falun Gong 
practitioners by the Chinese communist party." 

The Car Tour wants Canadians to write to city councillors and local MPs 
along with the prime minister and minister of foreign affairs to "condemn 
the Chinese communist party for committing crimes against humanity," Zhu 
said. 

It is alleged that Falun Gong practitioners are being arrested and held in 
labour camps for unknown lengths of time for sharing information about the 
belief. 

The allegation is that, while being held in what are being called 
"concentration camps," the practitioners unwillingly have their organs 
removed while they are still alive, which are later sold for organ 
transplants. 

The Kilgour and Matas report concluded that the allegations are true and 
that a number of Falun Gong prisoners have had their vital organs, including 
hearts, kidneys, livers and corneas, unwillingly removed to be sold at high 
prices to people, including foreigners, who face long waits for voluntary 
donations of such organs. 

The conclusion comes from piecing together all the evidence and once put 
together, the report states: "they paint a damning whole picture." 

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, was founded in northeastern China in 
1992 and includes elements of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. It 
essentially teaches meditation through exercise intended to improve physical 
and spiritual health and is sometimes referred to as Chinese yoga. 

The practice is estimated to have 70 to 100 million followers and is 
perceived as a threat to the Chinese government and was banned in 1999 by 
the CCP, said Zhu. 

"The Chinese government wants to defame their reputation, bankrupt them 
financially and destroy them physically," Zhu said of Falun Gong 
practitioners. 

The Falun Gong movement is not political, but rather promotes truth, 
tolerance and compassion for people of all race and cultures, she said. 

The Car Tour members are travelling to major B.C. cities to spread their 
message. 

GRAPHIC:
Photo: Shane Kurki, Daily News; Fengying Xiong speaks about organ harvesting 
Wednesday outside of City Hall. 

LOAD-DATE: August 10, 2006