Falun Gong protests live organ transplants 

The Leader-Post (Regina, Saskatchewan) 

August 3, 2006 Thursday


SECTION: NEWS; Pg. B2 

LENGTH: 428 words 


BYLINE: Kerry Benjoe, Leader-Post 

BODY: 


Live organ harvesting is as barbaric as it sounds, members of the Falun Gong 
said in Regina on Wednesday. 

The organization is hoping to raise awareness across Canada about what is 
happening in China. 

"I joined this car tour team to raise awareness about this atrocity," said 
Marvin Ye. 

The group decided to act following release of a July 6 report by former 
Liberal MP David Kilgour, and human rights lawyer David Matas. The 68-page 
report confirms that allegations of live organ seizures from unwilling Falun 
Gong practitioners are true. However, Chinese officials have denied all 
allegations in the report. 

The report calls for China to stop harvesting and selling organs, obtain 
consent from organ donors, stop the imprisonment of Falun Gong practitioners 
and document all organ transplants. 

Included in the report are detailed transcripts of conversations that 
Kilgour and Matas gathered during their investigation. 

"Usually these Falun Gong practitioners were injected with a shot to cause 
heart failure. During the process these people will be pushed into operating 
rooms to have their organs removed. On the surface the heart stopped 
beating, but the brain was still functioning because of that shot," said one 
woman interviewed for the report. 

Ye knows first-hand how Falun Gong members are treated in China. He 
emigrated to Canada in 2005, because he was living in a country that 
labelled him as a member of a "cult". 

The computer software developer said because he chose to practise Falun 
Gong, he was not allowed to pursue further education or to find a 
professional job. 

In 2001, Ye spent 18 months in a work camp for practising Falun Gong. Ye 
went on a hunger strike and his body slowly shut down. He was finally 
released after his family and friends repeatedly went to the camp and 
requested he be freed. Afterwards, he said he faced continuous harassment by 
the police in China. 

Falun Gong, which translates to "Law of the Wheel of Breathing," is a 
meditation movement. It was founded in 1992 and involves the use of 
meditation techniques and physical exercise to achieve good health and peace 
of mind. 

As a young student, Ye was looking for something that would bring balance 
and well-being to his life. Falun Gong operates under the idea of 
compassion, tolerance and non-violence. He likened the practice to that of 
Tai Chi because part of the process involves exercise and meditation. It is 
a holistic approach to living and Ye said it is not a religion but "it's a 
way of life". 

"We are not an organization. We are very peaceful. We just exercise," 
explained Ye. 

LOAD-DATE: August 3, 2006