Announcing the Australian Delegation to Investigate Forced Organ Seizure in Communist China The Australian Delegation is Part of a Global Alliance under the CIPFG1 -the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong in China The Australian team is among four such delegations from the international community2 committed to follow up the allegations and evidence presented in the Matas-Kilgour Report of July 20063 The Australian CIPFG has strong support ranging from State and Federal members and legislators, community and religious leaders, human rights organizations to concerned private citizens, it has over 53 members and is still fast growing. The primary objective of the CIPFG is to gain entry into China and conduct inspections and investigations in an unfettered manner with the aim to stop and/or prevent the alleged killing of Falun Gong prisoners of conscience and possibility others. Press Conference: Date, Time, Venue Media contacts: ERC, CIPFG 1 The Coalition was first being called for in April 2006, upon allegation of large numbers of organ seizure from Falun Gong prisoners of conscience in China. 2 Recently four CIPFG delegations are taking shape, and will be headed by current or former parliamentarians from Canada, Europe, Australia, and Hong Kong. 3 Full report available at http://investigation.go.saveinter.net/ Speech -March 2006, upon hearing the allegations of harvesting vital organs from Falun Gong practitioners alive in massive scale through the ex-wife of a Chinese surgeon and other informers, Falun Gong practitioners around the world believed and feared the allegations to be true. This is because they have been reading reports from China of imprisonment and torture daily over the last seven years of their fellow practitioners. They called for help. -In April 2006, initiated by Falun Dafa Associations and the Minghui.net (Clearwisdom.net)4, a Coalition was founded calling for the alliance of the world’s governments and organizations to joint handedly investigate these serious allegations. -Shortly after, two high profile Canadians, a human right lawyer and a former crown prosecutor, accepted the Coalition’s invitation to pursuit this matter. Although their request to visit China was blocked, through inductive reasoning, with 18 types of evidence carefully analysed, the two gentlemen published the historical Matas-Kilgour Report in July 2006 which concluded that the allegations, which amount to genocide and a new form of evil on this planet, is regretfully to be believed. -The Matas-Kilgour Report has made 17 practical and constructive recommendations many of which can and should be implemented even before the allegations are proven true. “Recommendation 10” -immediately stopping the persecution and the imprisonment of Falun Gong practitioners -is of key importance, as it is the most direct and effective way to prevent, if not stop, the alleged killing. We are committed not only to the investigation, but also to see these constructive recommendations implemented. 4 www.clearwisdom.net a web-site maintained by Falun Dafa practitioners focusing on reporting news of the movement worldwide and the persecution in China. -Since July 2006, increased awareness of the crime has brought stronger and stronger voice around the world to condemn this persecution of peaceful and innocent citizens who only aspire to improve themselves by following the principles of Truth-Benevolence-Forbearance. The world is demanding that the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners must stop, and it must stop immediately. -Meanwhile, the CIPFG has received strong support from many countries in four continents. It is the Coalition’s plan now that a number of delegations, lead by current and former parliamentarians of the world’s free countries, will go into China to see to it that the preventive measures recommended by the Matas- Kilgour Report are implemented. -The overriding bottom line of the mission to save lives by preventing the killing. -It is worth mentioning that since the gruesome crime of live organ harvesting was exposed through the accounts of the three informers5 in March-April, China quickly announced plans to bring in new laws, effective 1st July, to regulate the organ trade. Some may have invested hope in the regime to clean up its act, however, the September 27 BBC report “Organ sales 'thriving' in China” 6 served as a wake up call. Others more familiar with the history of the regime did not hold such hope. On the contrary they are deeply concerned that what has been “cleaned up” is likely to be the witnesses and evidence. -We cannot stand by and let the serious crimes depicted by the allegations continue unabated. -The Australian Delegation to China is being formed, and will be joined by three other delegations with similar aspirations from Europe, Asia, and North America. Tentatively each delegation will inspect hospitals and detention facilities in a number of different cities and provinces. 5 http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/6-3-10/39083.html http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/6-3-10/39111.html http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/6-3-11/39169.html 6 BBC report http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5386720.stm -A request for meetings to discuss arrangement for unfettered access to detention facilities and hospitals in China will be sent to the Chinese Embassy. We also call on the Australian government to support us in this mission. -The Delegation will comprise of small teams of 4-8, a minimum of two investigators plus interpreter and others in each team. The teams will go together or in turns depending on the situation, each for around 7-10 days. -The teams may go to any detention facilities and hospitals listed as starting points for our investigation in the three provinces that the Australia team covers. But the team may also go to other cities or provinces when the need arises. -The Delegation will also seek to visit renowned Chinese human rights Lawyer Gao Zhi Sheng who is an investigator of the CIPFG. Lawyer Gao was arrested on 15th August, thereafter his whereabouts unknown. Amnesty International, the U.S. Congress and the European Parliament have called for the release of Lawyer Gao. -We are confident that we will achieve the requested access because assisting independent investigation is in the best interests of the Chinese government. It is also in their best interests that the persecution of Falun Gong ends immediately. When all Falun Gong prisoners of conscience are released from detention, the facilities can be open for inspections without worry. -We also call on the Chinese government to prosecute those responsible for instigating and starting the persecution -Jiang Ze min, Luo Gan, Liu Jing and Zhou Yong kang. Q&A Who are the investigators in CIPFG? CIPFG currently has over 53 members. For privacy and security reasons, they will not be named before the delegation has successfully gained entry to China. What we can say is that they range from legislators, legal and medical professionals, academics, social workers to religious and community leaders. Are these 50 investigators all going to China? No, some will just be providing supports in Australia. Some would go but need to resolve availability or funding issues, but we have sufficient number of investigators who are ready to go when unfettered access is organized to detention facilities and hospitals. How to ensure this will be an independent investigation? For the investigators, they are reputable Australians citizens and organizations who are neither the victim nor the accused, they are third party. As for the targets of investigation, the details of people and places the team will visit will not be disclosed before hand so that the regime could not “clear it out” in preparation, like taking the SARS patients into ambulance and circle around the city when the WHO representatives were inspecting the hospitals during the epidemics. Who will pay for the travel, accommodation, etc? Each private member will be self-funding, which may involve fund raising efforts for some investigators. Who is responsible for the teams’ safety? Please read the mission statement and rational of the investigation provided, and our requests to the Chinese government. When the Chinese authority agrees under international pressure to implement the recommendations in the Matas-Kilgour Report and agrees to be open to independent investigation, security and safety concerns for the delegation should have been resolved. We are also concerned for the safety of those we meet and interview during the course of our investigation. The true safety for all concerned can only be guaranteed if the persecution of Falun Gong ends immediately, and that is what we are pressing for. What are you going to investigate? One of the first initiator of the Coalition is Minghui.net (Clearwisdom.net), a web site that has been Chinese Falun Gong practitioners’ main contact point to the outside world. Over the last seven years since the crackdown begun, the web site has received countless reports of persecution from inside China, many are first hand account by the victims of the persecution. Leads for investigation will be compiled from these reports. A list of labour camps and hospitals that the Australian delegation will target has already been compiled from this web site and copies are available. What do you think can be achieved by this mission? Will you find any evidence? There were 17 recommendations made in the Matas-Kilgour Report of July 2006, majority of which can be implemented without first finding direct proof of the allegation. The mission will achieve a lot in putting some of these recommendations into action and pressing for the other recommendations be put into action. By so doing it is believed that we will prevent (if not stop) the alleged killing of prisoners of conscience for their organs.
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