(Minghui.org) December 10, 2022 is International Human Rights Day. Lord Alton and Lord Hunt, Members of the British House of Lords, recently condemned the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) crime of organ harvesting from living Falun Gong practitioners.
Citing serious allegations from Independent Chinese Tribunal presided over by eminent British lawyer Sir Geoffrey Nice KC, Lord Alton said in the video that it was Jiang Zemin, the former leader of the Chinese Communist Party, who ordered the eradication of Falun Gong, and in his words, “whatever it takes.” Jiang established the 610 Office to carry out these orders.
The Independent Chinese Tribunal concluded after seeing the evidence that “Forced organ harvesting has been committed for years throughout China on a significant scale and that Falun Gong practitioners have been one – and probably the main – source of organ supply.”
Lord Alton stated it was likely that the CCP committed the same crimes against Uyghur Muslims, Tibetan Buddhists and Christians. These are serious allegations, which is why legislators in the UK Parliament, both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, are working together across the political divide to push legislation that will severely punish anyone who collaborates with those who commit heinous crimes.
Explaining why he is concerned about the CCP’s crimes against humanity, Lord Alton said that it is because we strongly support Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which asserts that everyone has the right to believe, not believe, or change their beliefs. However, it is being violated every day around the world, especially in China. It is even more ironic that China is a member of the United Nations’ Human Rights Commission established to uphold Article 18.
The UK House of Lords recently pushed through a number of legislative amendments to protect UK public supply chains from threats by human rights abusers. On November 30, during the third reading of the Procurement Bill, the House of Lords voted 191 to 169 to pass an amendment targeting forced organ harvesting. It will be submitted to the House of Commons for a vote in the near future.
The amendment, if it becomes law, will give Ministers discretion to take action and legally exclude a supplier if the supplier or related persons are found to be involved in forced organ harvesting and unethical activities related to human tissue.
The leadership of Lord Hunt of Kings Heath enabled the bill to be passed in the House of Lords. In his speech, Lord Hunt said that the world was increasingly aware that the CCP is harvesting organs from living prisoners of conscience. The Independent Chinese Tribunal recently found that the horrific crime of forced organ harvesting from living victims has resulted in widespread murder. People who receive organ transplants may prolong their lives, but at the cost of another innocent life.
Lord Hunt pointed out to the Grand Committee the massive evidence of forced organ harvesting by the CCP including detailed statistical analysis of transplants and donations, numerous documented secret phone conversations, including calls with high-profile CCP officials who admitted to forced organ harvesting, CCP legal and policy statements, advertisements for universities and military personnel and admissions, very short wait times for organs, and a wealth of personal testimonials. It took the Independent Chinese Tribunal twelve months to evaluate all available evidence.
In addition, a panel of international eminent persons in the Independent Chinese Tribunal interviewed more than fifty witnesses, experts and investigators, and formally invited CCP representatives to respond, he said.
He pointed out that the bill provided an opportunity to prevent the UK from getting involved in such crimes and sent an important signal to other countries.
At the end of April this year, Lord Hunt, Lord Alton, and other members of the British Parliament, also promoted a new British law, the Health and Care Bill, to come into force. The law prohibits British citizens and British nationals from traveling to China and other countries to buy organs for transplants. The new law also makes it a criminal offense for Britons who may be involved in organ trafficking.
Background: What Is Falun Gong and Why Is the CCP Persecuting It?
Falun Gong (also known as Falun Dafa) was first introduced to the public by Mr. Li Hongzhi in Changchun, China, in 1992. The spiritual discipline is now practiced in over 100 countries and regions worldwide.
Millions of people who have embraced the teachings, which are based on the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, and have learned the five exercises, have experienced improved health and well-being.
Jiang Zemin, former head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), perceived the spiritual discipline’s growing popularity as a threat to the CCP’s atheistic ideology and on July 20, 1999, he issued an order to eradicate the practice.
Under Jiang’s personal direction, the CCP established the 610 Office, an extralegal security organisation with the power to override the police and judicial systems and whose sole function is to carry out the persecution of Falun Dafa.
Minghui.org has confirmed the deaths of thousands of practitioners as a result of the persecution over the past 23 years. The actual number is believed to be much higher. Countless practitioners have been imprisoned and tortured for their faith.
There is concrete evidence that the CCP sanctions the harvesting of organs from detained practitioners, who are murdered to supply China’s organ transplant industry.
Chinese version available
(Clearwisdom)