The Ottawa Citizen
Monday, December 03, 2007
Re: Inside China's 'crematorium,' Nov. 24.
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/letters/story.html?id=eff8ffc6-5fbe-4577-976a-dcfcb07c6a9a
The reported atrocities at the medical facility at Sujiatun, China have been minimized to a curious red herring, casting doubt over organ harvesting reported in numerous other facilities in China.
Harry Wu's comment "You can't say if Sujiatun is not true, I can offer other evidence" and "You have to prove this first." lacks rationale. Sujiatun is only one of many facilities accused of these crimes. Whether it has more or less victims is irrelevant.
The congressional research service's question of why hospital officials would be so candid in a small percentage of many phone calls where affirmative responses were given to having Falun Gong practitioners' organs available does not belie phone records corresponding to hospital phone numbers, reported dates, times and duration of recorded calls. These are facts among many that are not addressed in this Citizen article.
Falun Gong has also been dehumanized in China's state-controlled media, a highly effective tactic used in atrocities of the past. Enormous amounts of money are also reported being made through this process.
I do not agree with the Citizen story that these are "the worst abuses" committed against Falun Gong. Over the eight years of persecution, many reports published on websites have been sent out of China by practitioners detailing systematic torture to the verge of death, being allowed to recover and then torture again. This cycle can continue for months or years. This narrow focus on Sujiatun does not address many known facts.
Michael Mahonen, Toronto
Mr. Mahonen, a Falun Gong practitioner, is a filmmaker who produced Sandstorm, a drama on abuses of Falun Gong members in China.