Commentary: As the World Loses Patience, The White House Responds to the Sujiatun Horror for the First Time

On March 9th, 2006, the inside story of the most debased atrocities committed at the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) Secret Sujiatun Concentration Camp came to light. This camp that detains and persecutes 6,000 Falun Gong practitioners and harvests their organs while often still alive was exposed by the overseas media. The entire world was shocked and yet the CCP kept silent. Due to different considerations towards the CCP scoundrel regime, most of the Western governments and media also remained silent. It appeared that everyone was holding his or her breath, waiting for what would come next.

The World Has Lost Its Patience

As time has passed, those outside of China have gradually lost patience with the CCP's silence.

Three days after the initial reports came out, a legal expert pointed out the CCP's 72-hour silence.

On the afternoon of March 16th, U.S. Congress held hearings, during which the members discussed an investigation into the Sujiatun Concentration Camp. Meanwhile, some Western media began to report on it.

On March 27th, the CCP's official media reported as top news that the CCP had legislated a prohibition on human organ trading. It announced that this legislation will be put in force on July 1st, 2006. It seemed that this was a silent admission on the part of the CCP.

However, on the next day, March 28th, Qin Gang, the spokesperson for the CCP's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, publicly denied the existence of the Shenyang Sujiatun Concentration Camp during a routine press conference. He invited journalists to inspect the place. Apparently, in the 20 or so days since the news broke, the CCP moved quickly to remove the evidence of its atrocities.

The CCP's clumsy attempts to cover up Sujiatun have not fooled anyone. Its hasty legislation is a sign of its guilt, and the fact that it took more than 20 days to respond is also telling.

After the CCP's Minister of Foreign Affair spoke publicly, some major Western media began to report on Sujiatun.

The Herald Sun of Australia reported on March 30th that Chen Yonglin, a former CCP diplomat, and Hao Fengjun, a former CCP intelligence officer, had requested that Prime Minister John Howard question Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao during his upcoming visit about the Sujiatun Camp. More than 4,000 signatures were collected during a signature drive to call for an investigation. It was confirmed that the camp held more than 6,000 people, but the Chinese government has denied its existence.

AFP reported on March 31st that the U.S. has urged the CCP to investigate the accusation regarding Sujiatun Camp levelled by Falun Gong practitioners.

The White House Responds to Sujiatun for the First Time

After the atrocities at Sujiatun were exposed, the U.S. government also remained silent at first. But in response to the "denial" by the CCP's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 28th, Adam Ereli, the Deputy State Department spokesperson, told reporters: "The Chinese have publicly denied the allegations. We've made the point that a further investigation would be helpful. We urge that it be done."

AFP reported Ereli's remark as follows: "Well, obviously, any such reports are taken very seriously by us. We haven't been able to confirm them. We have contacted the government of China about them."

The White House seems clear about how the current situation at Sujiatun is "available for investigation." According to the AFP article, Ereli responded to journalists' questions about the US request for an international investigation with, "No, we've raised it with the Chinese and urged them to investigate."

Mr. Ereli's answer appears to imply that although it is of no practical significance to inspect Sujiatun now, the CCP knows perfectly well what they have done.

On February 16th, 2006, the CCP's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Qin Gang answered a journalist's question of "whether Vice Premier Huang Ju is sick," "Thank you for your concern about Vice-Premier Huang Ju. I am not sure why you are asking this question. But, he is fulfilling his daily duties as usual." However, six days later, on February 22nd, Nan Hua Morning Paper reported that Huang Ju was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer during a regular health examination before the lunar New Year. Shortly after, the CCP publicly acknowledged that Huang Ju was ill during a press conference at its Two Congress meetings.