Hockessin, Delaware: Elected Officials Condemn CCP’s Organ Harvesting After Viewing Documentary

(Minghui.org) State Organs, a documentary that exposes the forced organ harvesting of prisoners of conscience by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), was screened on October 21 at the Hockessin Public Library in New Castle County, Delaware. Cheng Peiming, a Falun Dafa practitioner who survived organ harvesting, talked about his experience. Saddened by the large scale, long-term brutality taking place in China, many audience members were in tears. 

Mr. Cheng was imprisoned in China for practicing Falun Dafa. While he was in prison, part of his liver and lung were removed under anesthesia. After escaping from prison in 2006, he suffered severe health problems. With the U.S. government’s help, he arrived in the U.S. in 2020 through the United Nations Refugee Program. 

Many people attended the screening of State Organs at the Hockessin Public Library in Delaware on October 21, 2024. 

Cheng Peiming, the first known survivor of forced organ harvesting, testified during the panel discussion after the screening of State Organs. 

Three state representatives and state senators attended the documentary screening. They urged that more action be taken to stop the CCP’s atrocity of forced organ harvesting. 

State Representative: Ending the Atrocities

Delaware State Representative and House Minority Leader Michael Ramone said he was disturbed by the cruelty depicted in the documentary. “Every day, more and more people are falling victim, and it hurts. It hurts you inside, especially after seeing someone who’s actually been a victim, but fortunately survived,” he said.

Delaware State Representative Michael Ramone (right) expressed support for Cheng Peiming and other persecuted Falun Dafa practitioners. 

Representative Ramone, who is also a gubernatorial candidate, said he would continue the effort to end the crime of organ harvesting. “When asking people, why is it [efforts to end forced organ harvesting] being met with resistance? Some are worried about the political ramifications. This isn’t about politics, it’s about people’s lives,” he explained. Rep. Ramone initiated House Concurrent Resolution 143 (HR143) that condemns the forced organ harvesting in China. The resolution was passed in the Delaware House of Representatives in June.

State Senator Calls for More Action

State Senator David Lawson

State Senator David Lawson co-sponsored HCR143 and proposed a similar resolution in 2022, but it was blocked by the Senate leadership. Deeply moved by the documentary, he said, “That’s heart-wrenching when your family goes missing and there’s no end. You can’t get closure.

“Very dark movie, and it’s something that we need to be awakened to before we have more genocide, more death, more murders in China,” he continued, adding that Mr. Cheng’s story is, “very compelling, and how he got out is a miracle. … He is the voice in the dark,” he said. 

Senator Lawson also called for immediate action. “Number one, quit supporting [communist] China...We can quit supporting China on the economic side,” he said. He believes that introducing laws to prevent those who participate in transplantation in China from getting insurance coverage is a great idea to help end this crime. “The big thing I heard here tonight is stop the insurance from paying for it. That I think would be a big move, and that we can do,” he explained. 

Several states, including Idaho, Utah, and Texas, have passed bills that stipulate that insurance companies cannot reimburse Americans for transplantation procedures that occur in China. A number of countries, including Israel, Spain, Italy, Taiwan, Norway, Belgium, Canada, and South Korea have laws to prevent medical insurance from paying for transplant surgeries in China.

State Representative: Feeling the Pain

State Representative Paul Baumbach, who also co-sponsored HR143, said the tragedies illustrated in the documentary were terrible. “It’s a very sad movie, and it talks about an extremely painful practice. It’s going on, and it tells the human story of the families and the friends that are affected, and the numbers are staggering,” he said. 

State Representative Paul Baumbach

Representative Baumbach said this documentary helps people understand an ongoing and painful crime. “I feel very connected to the pain. And the scale of the pain is just, it’s very hard to fathom. So every time you learn more about it, it’s just more and more shocking,” he said. 

U.S. Senate Candidates: We Need Action

Two U.S. Senate candidates and two state representative candidates shared similar views. “It’s actually astounding and infuriating that these types of egregious human rights problems are going on in China, and that we are aware of it in our country, and that we are not addressing the issues,” said independent Senate nominee and former State Senator Dr. Mike Katz. “But we fail because of the influence of money. It’s very concerning, and we need strong leadership in this country to step forward and to deal with it immediately.”

Independent Senate nominee and former State Senator Dr. Mike Katz

Senator Katz emphasized how the film revealed the true nature of communism and its harm on humanity. “It’s been a slow infiltration of communism mindset in this country. It’s occurring in our academic institutions. It’s the influence of money coming in from overseas that is teaching our students not how to critically think, but what to think. And that is very concerning about the future of our country, but it’s been going on for several years,” he said.

Senator Katz said he has always been aware that there were human rights problems in China, and he called on people to become aware of the issues and not just stand by.

U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hansen said he was shocked when he heard about the forced organ harvesting in China which is supported by the CCP. “It’s just such a tragedy, and the fact that the world doesn’t know about this, the fact that you’re drawing attention to it, is very important,” he said.

U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hansen (right), with Falun Gong practitioner Cheng Peiming

Mr. Hansen said the abhorrent crime of organ harvesting must be ended. “Get the word out, please, because it’s such a huge issue that’s being unaddressed,” he stated. 

State Representative Candidates: Ending the Crime

State representative candidate Alex Homich says it’s important for people to come together to prevent the atrocity of forced organ harvesting. “Now more than ever, I think it’s really time for people to open their eyes a little bit more to what’s going around,” he said, adding that it was very important for more people, especially the young generation, to learn about this. 

Having lived in Hong Kong from 2012 to 2015, state representative candidate Chris Beronio knew about the forced organ harvesting in China. But he was still shocked by the extent of control exerted by the CCP. “The movie was just absolutely incredible, very moving, and I would say, honestly scary, with some of the facts that are coming out about the forced organ harvesting in China. I was shocked by what I saw,” he said.

State representative candidate Chris Beronio

Mr. Beronio said he admired Mr. Cheng’s survival and escape. “It’s just absolutely terrifying what his story was, though, and I hope I can help bring an end to that so that doesn’t happen to anybody else,” he stated. 

Exposing the Atrocities

Some Chinese people also watched the documentary, including Delaware researcher Guo Jinchen and his wife. “I heard about this in the past, but the report was not vivid. Plus we have a witness today and his experience is very shocking,” said Guo. 

Mr. Guo believes the CCP cannot cover up the facts forever. “Some information will leak out. And we have been discussing this for a while. The documentary we watched here today provided more in-depth details,” he said. 

He feels that more people need to know about this, adding, “We can help expose these brutalities to more people. This way they will learn what is really going on instead of following the CCP’s propaganda.”