Taiwan: Bill Proposed in Taiwan Legislature to Allocate Funds to Educate Public about Organ Harvesting in China

Lai Ching-Te, a member of the Taiwan Democratic Progressive Party and a member of the Legislative Yuan proposed a bill during a Congressional session on September 26th, 2006, which states the Executive Yuan should allocate funds to educate the Taiwan public with correct information regarding organ transplants. He thinks Taiwan's international image would be damaged if stolen organs (from Mainland China) are transplanted into Taiwanese people. He also asks the Legislative Yuan to invite Canadian parliament members or anyone else who has participated in the investigation of the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP's) harvesting of organs from living Falun Gong practitioners to visit Taiwan, so the Taiwanese people can learn the truth. Eighty-nine members of the Legislative Yuan have co-signed the bill.

Lai Ching-Te requests the Executive Yuan to allocate funds, to immediately create public education programmes to fully inform the Taiwanese people of human rights violations in Mainland China, including live organ harvesting, in order to protect Taiwanese people's lives, property and their right to know.

Lai Ching-Te's bill, proposed at the first meeting of the fourth session of the sixth Legislative Yuan, makes the point that the interaction across the Taiwan Strait has become more frequent in recent years; however, the Taiwanese people have very limited knowledge of the current human rights situation in China. In order to protect the Taiwanese people from encroachment on their rights and to guarantee the safety of their lives and property during these interactions, the Taiwanese government is responsible for providing the public with accurate information on human rights issues in Mainland China, including harvesting organs from living persons. The making and administering of policies must truly satisfy people's needs as well as universal principles of justice.

Lai Ching-Te stated that he based the bill on three main considerations:

First, he wants to ensure the health of Taiwanese people. Currently, 4,740 Taiwanese people have gone to China for transplant surgeries. Many of them experienced severe health problems on their return to Taiwan. Others have died after returning home.

Second, the bill is aimed to uphold human rights. "This is a disastrous human rights violation. If Taiwanese people would not go to China for organ transplants, the market there would shrink, and [as a result] our Falun Gong friends and other innocent people in Mainland China wouldn't have to suffer." We all know very well that there are not enough death row inmates in China to provide all these organs, and most of these organs come from non-consenting Falun Gong practitioners. The former Canadian Secretary of State and the U.S. Congress have investigated this matter. We have also obtained powerful evidence from some Taiwanese people.

Third, we should uphold Taiwan's image in the international community, that would be damaged if Taiwanese people were the recipients of forcibly removed organs.

Lai Ching-Te expressed a hope that the Executive Yuan would allocate a sufficient portion of the budget to make sure the Taiwanese people receive accurate information. He emphasised that although people have to wait for an organ in Taiwan, it is legal and safe, whereas other people's precious lives would end and the recipient's own safety would be possibly jeopardized if one were to undergo organ transplant surgery in Mainland China.

He stated that 89 members of the Legislative Yuan across party lines had co-signed the bill, and the bill had gained support from all parties. He hopes Wang Jin-Pyng, President of the Legislative Yuan, in his name or the name of the committee, would invite Canadian parliament members or anyone else who has investigated (the Communist Party's harvesting of living people's organs) to visit Taiwan, so the Taiwanese people can learn the truth.

The draft was eventually submitted to Chung Jung-chi, Vice President of the Legislative Yuan as well as to the Conference Department.

Attachment: the Draft bill

Member of the Legislative Yuan Lai Ching-Te and Eighty-eight other members of this Yuan (other names omitted) issue the most severe condemnation against the atrocities of harvesting organs from living individuals, sale of organs for profit and cremation of bodies to destroy evidence in Mainland China, which was exposed in early March this year, because of the basic principles that human rights are universal values and we respect lives. We request the Executive Yuan to allocate funds to immediately establish educational programmes to fully provide the public with information related to the current human rights condition in Mainland China, in order to guarantee the safety of our people's lives and property. We also urge this Yuan to invite David Kilgour, the former Canadian Secretary of State for the Asia-Pacific region, and international human rights lawyer David Matas, who conducted independent investigations and published their report on organ harvesting in early July 2006, to visit Taiwan. We respectfully request joint decision on the propriety of this bill.

Clarification:

1. The interaction across the Taiwan Strait has become more frequent in recently years; however, the Taiwanese people have very limited knowledge on the current human rights situation in China. In order to protect the Taiwanese people from encroachment of their rights and to guarantee the safety of their lives and property during these interactions, the Taiwan government is responsible for providing the public with accurate information on human rights issues in Mainland China, including harvesting organs from people who are still alive. The making and administering of policies must truly satisfy people's needs as well as universal principles of justice.

2. The entire world condemned [the Chinese Communist regime] after the international media exposed its harvesting of organs from living Falun Gong practitioners, the sale of organs for profit and cremation of bodies to destroy evidence in early March this year. County and city councils' representatives heard the information and were shocked. Within three months, Jiayi County, Yilan County, Jilong City, Hualian County, Tainan City, Yunlin County, Pindong County, and Penghu County passed resolutions to condemn live organ harvesting and called for the international community to band together and end this barbaric practice. Other county and city councils are drafting resolutions.

3. During this period, upright people worldwide founded the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (CIPFG), to conduct independent investigations and collect thorough evidence in China and abroad. The organisation demanded a thorough investigation of labour camps, prisons, detention centres, custody centres and mental hospitals where the CCP currently holds Falun Gong practitioners. This coalition also invites other international organisations and governments to join the investigation of related crimes.

David Kilgour, the former Canadian Secretary of State for the Asia-Pacific region, and international human rights lawyer David Matas formed an independent investigation team. After two months of investigations and evidence collection they published an investigation report on July 6th, 2006 about the CCP's harvesting the organs of living Falun Gong practitioners in the Canadian media. The report concludes, "The government of China and its agencies...since 1999 have put to death a large but unknown number of Falun Gong prisoners of conscience. Their vital organs...were virtually simultaneously seized involuntarily for sale at high prices." The world was shocked at their findings. After the Honourable Edward McMillan-Scott, Vice President of the European Union went to China and conducted investigations he decided to help the CIPFG to further investigate crimes on Chinese soil. Five courageous people from Mainland China have joined the CIPFG. They are human rights lawyers Gao Zhisheng, Zhang Jiankang, Yang Zaixin and two renowned scholars, Jiao Guobiao and Sun Wenguang. Government officials, lawyers, scholars and journalists from Hong Kong, North America, Australia and Europe have also joined the organisation one after another. We believe a strong voice from the international community will make the investigation a success.

4. We deeply feel that "human right has no borders;" and that "life is priceless and does not have any party affiliation." As the highest entity representing the people, this Yuan must pay close attention to the development of live organ harvesting; additionally, in order to raise the awareness and participation of our Congress on topics of international human rights issues, we urge the Legislative Yuan to invite David Kilgour, the former Secretary of State of Canada in the Asia-Pacific region and international human rights lawyer David Matas to visit Taiwan. We respectfully request a joint decision on the propriety of this bill.