Australia: Opposition Foreign Affairs Spokesman Supports Investigation into the CCP's Organ Harvesting from Living Falun Gong Practitioners

According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation report on August 17, 2006, Australian opposition foreign affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd stated in an interview that he supports conducting an investigation into the CCP's harvesting organs from living Falun Gong practitioners.

Rudd said that a few weeks ago, one of his constituents sent him a copy of the investigative report entitled "Report into Allegations of Organ Harvesting of Falun Gong Practitioners in China." He read it and was deeply disturbed by it. Rudd said, "What I did in response to it was then send it by letter to the Department of Foreign Affairs to ask for their views on its contents. And recently, I've received a reply from the Department as well."

Rudd thought that the Australian Foreign Affairs Department raised this matter to the Chinese side during the bilateral human rights dialogue with China. He said the Foreign Affairs Department stated in the letter replied to him that the matter has been raised. The Department's proposition to the Chinese was that there should be some independent investigation of this matter.

Rudd said that he supports the government's proposal that there should be an independent investigation. These allegations are very serious.