(Minghui.org) Reporter Кремена Крумова for the Bulgarian news media Novetika conducted a special interview with Dr. Torsten Trey, executive director of the Washington-based NGO Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting (DAFOH) in April 2024. The following are excerpts from the article which was published on April 25.
The date April 25, 2024, marks 25 years from the first peaceful protest of Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline for refining mind and body, the most widespread social movement in China in the 1990s, and today – the largest group of people subjected to a systematic persecution and torment, including murdered for organs.
25 years later – does the so-called forced organ harvesting of Falun Gong continue? Who are the next victims of this new genocide? And who is taking over from China in this unethical activity?
These critically important questions we discussed with Dr. Torsten Trey.
A special interview conducted by Bulgarian news outlet, Novetika, reporter Кремена Крумова with Dr. Torsten Trey, executive director of the Washington-based NGO Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting (DAFOH) (Network Screenshot)
Novetika: Are Falun Gong practitioners in China still killed for their organs?
Dr. Torsten Trey: According to various indicators the forced organ harvesting of Falun Gong is still ongoing.
April 25, 1999, staged an incident where false reporting about Falun Gong was tested as a way to topple the vastly popular meditation practice.
This has led to the ostracizing and banning of Falun Gong since July 1999. The popularity of Falun Gong among the Chinese people was remarkable. About 100 million Chinese practiced the Buddha school qigong. On the surface, it triggered the jealousy of the communist leaders as the CCP had only about 60 million members. But the real reason for the ban and the subsequent persecution was probably the content of the Falun Gong practice.
While Falun Gong follows truth, the CCP was entangled in lies, fake news propaganda, and false reporting.
While the Buddhist qigong group lived by the principle of compassion, the communist leadership preached violence and brutality to bring its revolution to victory.
And while the self-improvement practice respects tolerance and forbearance, the one-party regime does not tolerate any other opinion than its own.
The Chinese government is deceptive, promotes violent class struggle and is absolutely intolerant of any deviating opinion.
Thus, Falun Gong was declared an enemy of the CCP and in order to not let the Chinese people have doubts in the CCP, the leadership felt the need to silence Falun Gong completely. Forced organ harvesting was the final solution of the CCP to eradicate Falun Gong under the umbrella of a medical procedure.
Forced organ harvesting is much easier to cover up than mass executions.
Novetika: Are there witnesses of the forced organ harvesting?
Dr. Torsten Trey: There are many Falun Gong practitioners who have testified on this issue. The testimonies reflect different levels of encounters.
Some were forcibly blood tested or medically examined while in detention.
Others stated they were threatened by guards that they wanted to remove their organs.
Others were actually pushed in a gown on a hospital bed into the operating room, but then the procedure was aborted because of international attention on the donor victims.
Before 2006, some were indeed operated upon. But because of their hunger strike, the organs were too small and not ready for transplantation. The surgery was aborted and they survived, only with a scar left.
Novetika: Many think the claims of forced organ harvesting are absurd.
Dr. Torsten Trey: Forced organ harvesting is different from organ trafficking. The latter is more a commercial agreement.
In forced organ harvesting, the victims are killed shortly before or during the organ removal; there is no consent; the purpose of the killing is the organ removal; for forced organ harvesting to take on an industrial scope, it can only occur when the state sanctions it and stops people from investigating it.
We found that forced organ harvesting as a state-sanctioned transplant abuse only occurs in China.
Forced organ harvesting is an abusive practice that provides organs in a fast way with unlimited supply.
Forced organ harvesting has created a business model in transplant medicine that outraces altruistic organ donation. Patients want organ transplants within 2 weeks, not 5 years. This is a devastating blow to the medical profession as medicine is about to lose its ethical position and medical oath. It is medical absurdity to kill a person to treat another person with the organs of the first person.
Novetika: What is the UN reaction to forced organ harvesting?
Dr. Torsten Trey: We have recently submitted an open letter to UNHRC during the Universal China Periodic Review. The campaign was a big success. It allowed us to reach millions of people and inform them about China’s HR violations and forced organ harvesting. We need to let people know about it.
But in terms of responses from the UNHRC we did not see much impact. We need every citizen and every government to point out the forced organ harvesting.
Novetika: DAFOH was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize?
Dr. Torsten Trey: Yes, DAFOH has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times – in 2016, 2017, and in 2024.
The nomination is an important step for the recognition of these crimes against humanity. When we started in 2006, almost nobody was aware of forced organ harvesting, nor could anyone even fathom or describe it, in fact the term forced organ harvesting did not even exist. It was our NGO that branded this term which is now used around the world to describe this transplant abuse.
Between 2012 and 2018, DAFOH has organized a global petition to the UNHRC and we collected more than 3 million signatures. This indicates that there is a vast interest in the population to learn more about forced organ harvesting and to end it. The third nomination for the 2024 NPP is another reflection of the global interest in this topic.
Over the past 17 years DAFOH has provided the medical community as well as the public with objective findings about forced organ harvesting. More and more people are waking up and understand this atrocity. We are grateful that DAFOH played a role in this awakening process. But as long as forced organ harvesting has not ended we cannot rest.
According to some estimates, an innocent victim, a Falun Gong practitioner, a Uighur or someone is killed for the organs every 15-30 minutes.
So during this interview possibly 1 or 2 people were killed for their organs. This has to stop. The world has to call upon China to stop the persecution of Falun Gong. Meanwhile, I ask everyone to learn more about Falun Gong. Learn about the practice of truthfulness, compassion and tolerance. Why? Because if people start learning about Falun Gong it defeats the purpose of silencing Falun Gong and can help to stop forced organ harvesting.
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