Taiwan: Scholars Call Attention to China's Illegal Organ Transplants

On December 22nd, 2008, the Human Rights Protection and Promotion Committee of the Executive Yuan held a meeting hosted by Premier Liu Chao-Shiuan. The meeting focused on the human rights violations against people in Taiwan going to China for organ transplants.

Premier Liu Chao-Shiuan called a meeting of the Human Rights Protection and Promotion Committee on December 22nd, 2008

Chang Chin-Hwa, a member of the Committee and a professor at National Taiwan University, stated that the illegal large-scale organ removal from living Falun Gong practitioners was still ongoing in China. At the same time, illegal international organ sales were rampant. China, Pakistan, the Philippines, Egypt, and India are major players in illegal organ sales. Chang advocated that the government should prevent citizens in Taiwan from being involved in such a serious human rights violation.

An official from the Executive Yuan Department of Health said that the Department has budgeted funds to publicise information about proper organ transplants. As for the involvement of doctors in Taiwan in promoting organ transplants in China, the Department would work with the Executive Yuan Mainland Affairs Council to start an investigation.

The Executive Yuan Human Rights Protection and Promotion Committee is composed of 27 members, including government officials, scholars, and subject matter experts. They hope to combine the forces of government with civil groups to promote human rights protection principles into government policy making.