Five teams of representatives of China are travelling across Canada to raise awareness of the organ harvesting and the persecution of the people of China, specifically the followers of the practice of Falun Gong (also known as Falun Dafa).

Falun Gong is an ancient Chinese spiritual discipline in the Buddha School tradition based on the principles and values of truthfulness, compassion and tolerance. After the Cultural Revolution of China (1966-1976), the Chinese people embraced the practices of Falun Gong, which teaches meditation and gentle exercise, as well as a lifestyle of both mental and physical health and wellness.

Spokesperson for the team, and Toronto resident, Paula Liu, says they are one of five teams visiting over 250 cities across Canada to seek help in stopping the persecution and organ harvesting in residents of China. Liu is originally from China and has been living in Toronto for the past 16 years. She says any group that is seeking religious freedom in China is targeted, including Christians. However, the Falun Gong practitioners are a targeted group, making up 75-80% of those persecuted.

"When people saw that more and more people [were] getting healthier bodies from practicing Falun Gong, they wanted to practice as well," said Liu.

"The Chinese Communist Party felt threatened by the number [of people practicing Falun Gong] and decided that they wanted to control Falun Gong because they are very fascist and want to control everything."

However, their efforts were unsuccessful. So, they began persecuting the followers of Falun Gong. The persecution was led by Jiang Zemin, and this is the man the protesters want held accountable for the slaughter and illegal human organ harvesting from Falun Gong prisoners.
         
Researchers are delving into the persecution in China, and the alarming increase in human organ transplants in that country, raising some serious questions.

According to their own data, Chinese surgeons are transplanting between 60,000 to 100,000 organs a year. Waiting time for a kidney transplant in Canada can take up to two to five years, according to a 2012 report. In China, a kidney can become available within a few weeks. Researchers have found evidence that foreigners are paying six-figure sums for transplants.

This raises the question of where China obtains the organs to perform these astounding numbers of organ transplants. In China, organ donation from family members, or voluntarily upon death, is very small due to cultural reasons (Chinese people wish to keep their bodies whole after death). Studies are showing the number of transplants far surpass the organs available from voluntary donors.

Paula Liu explained more about the practice of organ harvesting in China and why the Falun Gong practitioners are a target, beyond the political agenda. She adds that more are coming forward who have survived and escaped from Chinese prisons, sharing their story. Liu says they feel it is their responsibility to share what's happening in their native country.
        
With more evidence being reported across the globe, many government and international organizations began expressing serious concern, and many questions, about the large amounts of organ transplants and the treatment of those practicing Falun Gong.

In November of 2008, the United Nations Committee Against Torture held its 41st session in Geneva. The demand for the Chinese government to explain the massive increase in organ transplant surgeries in that country was documented in the summary report. As well, it demanded the Chinese government to perform an investigation into the issue to prosecute and punish all involved in persecution and organ harvesting activities.

Most recently, a ground-breaking report, An Update to Bloody Harvest & The Slaughter, was released two months ago in June, whereby authors David Matas, David Kilgour and Ethan Gutmann documented critical evidence that supported the beliefs that those practicing the Falun Gong disciplines were a key-targeted group, who were arrested and persecuted for the purpose of organ harvesting for transplants in China.

Matas is an International Human Rights lawyer and practices refugee and immigration law in Winnipeg. He is the author of the writing State Organs. Matas co-authored the investigative report, Bloody Harvest, with the former Canadian Secretary of State and Crown Prosecutor, David Kilgour. Bloody Harvest (2009) was a Nobel Peace Prize nominee. Ethan Gutmann is a China analyst and investigative journalist, and authored The Slaughter in 2014, explaining these atrocities that are happening in the prisons and hospitals in China.

Recently the US House of Representatives unanimously passed Resolution 343, condemning China's state-sanctioned forced organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience, including large numbers of those practicing Falun Gong.

Liu says the five teams are seeking further help from Canadians, and ultimately the Canadian government, to help the Chinese people stop the persecution and the harvesting of organs in China.

Taiwan, Israel, and Spain have created legal barriers to organ tourism, which is the practice of foreigners travelling to another country for the sole purpose of obtaining organs through transplant.

Canada's Parliamentary Subcommittee on International Human Rights adopted a motion last year condemning and calling for an immediate end to the state-sanctioned harvesting from prisoners of conscience in China, including the Falun Gong practitioners.

Liu says their team has been canvassing across the prairies, most recently visiting southern Manitoba communities. She says there are numerous ways one can support, as each team carries a petition to which anyone can sign. She encourages Canadians to watch documentaries, such as Human Harvest (winner of the Peabody Award) and Hard to Believe, to become more aware of the plight of the Chinese people in their home country.

Letters to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at pm@pm.gc.ca or the Minister of Foreign Affairs, stephane.dio@par.gc.ca. Also, speaking to your local MP to raise awareness is an additional way to support those suffering in China.

Visit www.faluninfo.net for more information.