The Epoch Times New Zealand Staff

Aug 25, 2006

Edward McMillan-Scott (left) and David Kilgour (right) during their recent trip to Australia.(The Epoch Times)

Wellington will be host to EU Parliament Vice-President Edward McMillan-Scott and former Canadian MP David Kilgour this Thursday as they speak on their findings while investigating organ harvesting practices in China.

A press conference, a Parliament hearing and an open Public Forum will be held for both men in Wellington, before Kilgour travels to Auckland on Friday to attend an open Public Forum.

McMillan-Scott and Kilgour arrive as part of their whirlwind tour Downunder which aims to, "seek to enlist New Zealand opinion to help cause the government of China to end the practice now, while it is presumably listening to the world out of concern for the success of its Olympic Games in 2008," states Mr Kilgour.

The past week has been spent in Australia and the politicians praised Canberra after the "extremely positive" reaction where they found a "tremendous amount of sympathy amongst parliamentarians of all parties, their assistants and staff and indeed journalists," said McMillan-Scott.

"The first thing that I have to say is that as a result of my meetings with diplomats, with politicians with journalists, NGO's and individuals is the generalised conclusion that China is actually going backwards. That the pace of change is glacial but the repression in certain areas is becoming quite marked," he said at a press conference last week.

In May this year, Mr McMillan-Scott travelled to China on a fact-finding trip to investigate the persecution of Falun Gong, in particular allegations of organ harvesting of live Falun Gong practitioners.

"I am convinced that Chinese surgeons are involved in reverse-matching of organs from Falun Gong prisoners-of-conscience and I have first-hand evidence. This is genocide. The world's democracies have a duty to insist on the truth - and ultimately on justice," he concluded.

"I don't think you should trade human rights for trade - simple as that."

Organ Harvesting report

The "Report into Allegations of Organ Harvesting of Falun Gong Practitioners in China" released July 6, 2006, and subsequent response to the Chinese Communist Party's invective were written by Kilgour and David Matas, a Canadian human rights lawyer.

The gravity of the conclusions this report draws is somewhat overwhelming.

The report, a culmination of a two-month independent investigation, concludes that, "We believe that there has been and continues today to be large-scale organ seizures from unwilling Falun Gong practitioners. The allegations, if true, would represent a grotesque form of evil, which, despite all the depravations humanity has seen, would be new to this planet."

Over much of the past month, David Kilgour, along with his co-author of the report, David Matas, have together or separately visited Hong Kong, Brussels, Paris, Berlin, London, Washington, New York, Boston and Australia raising awareness among media, legislators, diplomats and the public about the issue.

"Quite frankly, I have not talked to one single person in the countries that I have been that don't say, 'I am persuaded'," said Kilgour.

The report and accompanying response are compelling.

Although the evidence is circumstantial, Kilgour and Matas have built their argument around 18 different kinds of evidence, including websites listing organs for sale, clinics admitting by phone that they have Falun Gong organs readily available, the short wait for an organ (less than 2 weeks in some cases), evidence of a sharp rise in transplants that parallels massive arrests of Falun Gong members, and a testimonial from the former wife of a transplant surgeon.

Kilgour stands by the evidence, "You may not like number three or number six but if you look at all 18 any reasonable person looking at a jury or group of fair-minded people, they would find that the allegations are proven."

Qualified investigators

The authors' biographies bespeak of high-level education, experience and a deep understanding of both law and diplomacy.

David Kilgour is a former Canadian Crown Prosecutor and retired long-serving Member of the Canadian Parliament [1979-2006]. Kilgour served as Secretary of State for the Asia-Pacific region [2002-2003], and as Secretary of State for Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America [1997-2002]. Edward McMillan-Scott is Vice-President of the European Parliament, designated rapporteur for the EU's New Democracy and Human Rights Instrument, and is the longest serving member of the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee.

McMillan-Scott was assigned as a special investigator into the strategic relationship of the European Parliament and the Chinese Communist Party and became the first Western politician to go to Tibet after a three-year Beijing ban on outsiders. Neither men are Falun Gong practitioners.

Reply to Report

The communists in China seem to be squirming. Dismissing the report on the same day it was published, the Chinese communist regime has issued several statements circling the allegations.

They have not provided the international community with contradictory evidence, instead pointing out that the authors inadvertently placed two cities in the wrong provinces.

"If that is the best that they come up to criticise in this report then that indicates that the report is rock solid," responded Kilgour.

The Communist Party's rhetoric has focused on defaming the authors and Falun Gong itself.

Kilgour and Matas highlight the second of China's responses, consisting of eight paragraphs, of which, "only three deal with organ harvesting. One talks about Canada-China relations. Four paragraphs, the bulk of the response, are a venomous attack on Falun Gong replete with false, slanderous allegations."

"I fear that there have been worse things happening in China that are not even covered in the report but that is for another enquiry," said Mr McMillan-Scott

The Transplant Society of Australia and New Zealand (TSANZ) issued a statement on August 10, opposing the transplantation of organs from executed prisoners, particularly highlighting the "recent developments in China that foster more transparency."

"I can't think of any situation that makes it justifiable to take organs from people without their consent. It could be argued just how autonomous and informed is that consent," commented Professor Richard Robson, Clinical Director, Dept of Nephrology, Christchurch Hospital.

"There are New Zealanders who go to China for organ transplants but it is not encouraged by renal physicians in this country but if they wish to do so, we can't stop them, but we don't facilitate it." Health Minister Pete Hodgson declined to comment on the report.

After New Zealand Kilgour is planning to visit the Nordic countries and co-author, David Matas will visit a number of Asian countries. They plan to post a revised report with supplementary information sometime in October.

McMillan-Scott said the organ harvesting issue has been put to the European Parliament, which he said commented on "the almost impossibility of doing anything useful in the reform process at this stage because the regime has total control over everything."

Source http://theepochtimes.com/news/6-8-25/45311.html