(Minghui.org) Public attention on organ harvesting atrocities in China has been on the rise since the Australian national television network SBS broadcast a primetime TV documentary on the subject on April 7, 2015.
Australian politicians and community leaders are seizing the opportunity such awareness provides to call for thorough investigations by the United Nations, and an immediate end to this crime against humanity.
Craig Kelly, federal Member of Parliament and co-chair of Parliamentarians Against Forced Organ Harvesting (PAFOH), called the practice of forced organ harvesting “reprehensible” and pledged to continue working with Falun Gong practitioners to expose the issue and stop the crime against humanity.
“It is a barbaric and cruel practice that has no place in our world, and it is pleasing to see that all nations are taking strides against this,” Mr. Kelly added.
Mr. Craig Kelly, federal Member of Parliament and co-chair of Parliamentarians Against Forced Organ Harvesting (PAFOH), at a rally on July 16, 2014 in front of Parliament House in Canberra.
Ms. Signe Westerberg, spokesperson for the Fairfield-Liverpool area Green Party in New South Wales
“Our government should make it clear to the Chinese government that this [organ harvesting] is an act worthy of world condemnation,” said Signe Westerberg, spokesperson for the Fairfield-Liverpool area Green Party in New South Wales.
Ms. Westerberg described the state-sanctioned organ harvesting as “stunned horror” and “totally unacceptable.”
“This is war on its own people... Awareness is key. People need to know this type of abhorrence is happening in China, that China chooses to treat its own citizens with such hatred and inhumanity,” said Ms. Westerberg.
Andrew Bush, a senior Liberal Party member, said that watching the Human Harvest documentary helped him better understand Falun Gong practitioners' determination to expose the crime and bring the perpetrators to justice.
“Its content was and is horrifying, but it is definitely a message that needs to be spread worldwide, until the Chinese authorities realize what they have done is wrong,” said Bush. “It is one of the worst abuses of human rights, and it needs to be stopped.”
Reverend Bill Crews, minister of the Ashfield Uniting Church Parish Mission, and CEO and founder of the Exodus Foundation
“That any country would organ harvest their people because of their belief, to me is just horrific, and the government of the country needs to stand condemned for that,” stated Rev. Bill Crews, minister of the Ashfield Uniting Church Parish Mission, and CEO and founder of the Exodus Foundation.
“For people to donate their organs is one thing; to have them harvested is another. It’s morally wrong,” added Rev. Crews. “Every person on this earth has a right to live as long as they like, as long as they can, and it should not have anything to do with their belief. To execute people because of their belief is just abhorrent.”
“If there are allegations that people came forward to say they are organ harvesting in China, then we need to say that’s got to be investigated, and expect China to comply with any investigation,” stated James Shaw, Parramatta City Councillor, adding that Australia is one of the founding nations of the United Nations after the Second World War.
Mr. James Shaw, Parramatta City Councillor
Mr. Shaw said that he knows Falun Gong practitioners well. “[They are] always very polite, pleasant, and respectful, and not just to me but to each other as well, and they are good community citizens.”
“The Chinese consulate can write a letter to me, but it’s not going to change my view, and it will not change what I do as city councilor,” he added, referring to his fellow Councillor John Hugh's experience. The Chinese consulate in Sydney demanded that Mr. Hugh not support practitioners' claims regarding organ harvesting as a condition for issuing him a visa to visit China.
Mr. Andrew Wilson, Parramatta City Councillor
“What kind of government harvests organs from their own people for profit? What kind of pain will it bring to those victims’ families? Instead of persecuting good citizens that are working to make their country a better place, they should be utilizing those people to benefit their country,” said Andrew Wilson, another Parramatta City Councillor.
Mr. Wilson expressed his appreciation for SBS Dateline, which broadcast Human Harvest. He said that he has been actively urging the Australian government to pay attention to this crime against humanity.
He said that Chinese officials involved in this will find organ harvesting a sin in the future and regret what they did, “I hope they can find reconciliation through confession, so that China won’t poison the world’s atmosphere with the persecution and torture.”