Australia: Catholic Priest Writes to Prime Minister: "I Strongly Believe That Live Organ Harvesting Happening in China Must Be Stopped at Once"

(Clearwisdom.net) On December 5, 2006, Father Peter Caruana, parish priest of the Catholic Church in Ingleburn, Australia, wrote a letter to Prime Minister John Howard, strongly calling on the immediate stop of CCP’s organ harvesting from living Falun Gong practitioners in China. This is the third time Father Caruana wrote to the Prime Minister. Below is the text of the letter.

5 December, 2006

Prime Minister John Howard
PO Box 6022
House of Representatives
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Fax: [phone]

Dear Prime Minister John Howard,

I am Father Peter Caruana parish priest of the Catholic Church in Ingleburn. This is the third time that I am writing to you about the critical issue of live organ harvesting that happens in China. When I heard about this "a new form of evil" in the world I strongly believe that this must be stopped at once.

I have joined in the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (CIPFG), which has been set up internationally in Australia, Asia, America and Europe, on the basis of the mounting facts of genocide against Falun Gong practitioners, who follow the principles of Truth-Compassion-Forbearance. With the persistent efforts of members of CIPFG, the whole world is now fully aware that behind the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) so called "best period of human rights" the most disgusting and evil crime is being committed in the protection of CCP.

After the publication of the independent report (1) on the Organ Harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners in China on July 6, 2006, David Kilgour and David Matas have travelled to more than 20 countries around the world to collect support from government officials and various organizations to stop the atrocities. The active response from parliaments, organizations and media around the world is very encouraging: agreements with political parties in some countries such as Korea, Belgium and Taiwan etc have suggested to use legislation to stop this evil crime; human rights organizations, organ transplantation organizations published the report on their websites and strongly condemned this brutalization (2); Media around the world reported this issue with huge coverage.

There are lots of touching stories: Belgium MP Patrik Bankrunkelsven had pretended to be a patient that needed a new kidney when he rang two hospitals in Beijing. He heard "Come here before 18^th of February. It is a good season and in the Chinese New Year we need to empty our jails." He was told that for 50,000 Euros he could get a kidney. Organs are all from 20 year old sentenced prisoners. Patrik said: "It is not difficult to get evidence. We need to have legislation to punish those against the law." (3) The draft legislation against people to get organ from China will be publicized a few weeks later. South Korean Chair of the Legal and Legislation Committee of Korean National Assembly MP An Xyong said that he would ask the Health and Welfare Ministry to investigate cases of people going to China for organ transplants. (4) Based on the results, he would ask the Legal Affairs Ministry to proceed with an official investigation. If there is sufficient evidence, he would promote the legislation on this issue. Member of the CIPFG, Vice president of European Council Edward McMillan said in a forum in America recently, the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights will fund the International Criminal Court and he had pointed out that : "since 1940, history has showed us many times that we cannot have compliance with terrorism. CCP is a terror political regime. I have put the names of members of CCP regime guilty of genocide of Falun Gong practitioners in a warning memo. They should be prosecuted, and charged for their anti-humanity crime. Not far in the future, they will be judged by the International Criminal Court."(5)

During the visit in Australia in August of David Kilgour and Edward McMillan, political parties have requested the CCP to allow the international community to conduct independent investigations; CIPFG Australia gained wider support from Australian people, doctors, solicitors and politicians. I am glad to see that Senator Andrew Barnett and MP Chris Bowen joined the CIPFG; the number of Australian people going to China for organ transplant has decreased. Now the NSW and VIC teams of the Australian Investigation Delegation to China have been formed and announced to go into China last month for an independent and unrestricted investigation. In the website of CIPFG http://www.cipfg.org/en/, there are over one thousand hospitals listed with suspicious organ transplant cases. Some of them have detail records about the doctors involved. With the aim to open up all detention facilities and save people, I am proud to become a tentative member of the NSW team.

In the first response to the allegation of live organ harvesting, CCP issued a new regulation to restrict organ theft and said that it would take effect on July 1 2006. Last week CCP had to admit a well known fact that CCP has been always using executed criminals’ organs for transplantation. However, this is only a tactic that CCP used to avoid the question of live organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners. Mr. Phil Glendenning, director of Edmund Rice Centre said in the press announcement on 28^th November that: "The CCP had denied the allegations, but last week the CCP admitted that most organs for transplant in China are from executed prisoners. Obviously the CCP is being deceitful, and is trying to deny the organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners in a different way. The truth is that the number of organ transplants has been increasing along with the escalation of the persecution against Falun Gong. When we analyze all the evidence together, we must question the Chinese Government regarding this serious issue. Other governments around the world should also help to stop the CCP's crimes." No matter how much they deny, they cannot explain the reverse match of organ and patient in China. (6)

I hope that we all can learn a lesson from Henry Kissinger, secretary of US in 1973. A recent film funded by BBC ‘The Trial of Henry Kissinger’ warns the world that facing human suffering and misery with indifference is wrong. The film has sentenced Kissinger with a guilty verdict for his advice to USA in the policy of Cambodia, Chile and East Timor's tragic atrocities. (7) The fear of losing trade should not become an excuse to tolerate the evil crime that happens in China now. I urge you, our Prime Minister, to play an active role in this battle of good and evil. I want our federal government to say that we will not sell out human rights for trade, and openly condemn China’s human rights violations as the Canadian government did. They do not believe that criticizing China’s human right violations will affect their trade. David Kilgour gave an example when he visited Australia that Holland’s trade with China did not suffer at all by standing strong for human rights in the past years.

I sincerely ask you to support whatever the government can do to help our CIPFG teams to enter China. Also, please consider the following recommendation and facilitate legislation to:

Bar entry to Australia to Chinese doctors who are known to be involved in trafficking of organs.

Require doctors to report organs obtained from an organ harvested person abroad or from persons kept in detention.

Discourage Australian professionals and institutions from participating in any Chinese Government sponsored organ transplant research or meetings.

Thank you very much for reading my letter. Please note that this is an issue that we should not neglect as human beings. I hope that I can receive your reply in the near future.

Sincerely yours,

Father Peter Caruana